Wedge: Lifestream
by Wedge1
Summary: Wedge died, but that doesn't mean his story ends there! Meet Wedge and all his friends as he travels through the dead world and meets both new and old characters...and learn about the secrets of his past. And yes, moogles aren't just tiny little things an
1. The Death of Wedge

Wedge: Lifestream

Wedge: Lifestream!

A novel-fanfiction written by Chris Mikesell

[candcrono@aol.com][1]

Chapter 1: The Death of Wedge

"Listen up all you screwups!" Wedge sat up and paid attention to Barret's ranting. "We've just received word of Shinra activity in Sector 7!"

"What?" Wedge didn't like this. "Why are they here? There's nothing to get here; Sector 7 is just a bunch of slums."

"You moron!" Barret boomed. He could be very intimidating when he was angry. It was impossible to ignore because of his sheer size and the gattling gun grafted onto his right arm. "They're probably onto us! If they are here in Sector 7, they will probably show up at our door sooner or later."

"Hold on, Barret," called a strong, but feminine voice. "I don't think that they're looking for us. Look at these readings." She took Barret to the monitor, and called up a map of Midgar. "See, we're here," she said, pointing at a small green square that represented the bar. "These red dots are Shinra MPs, and the bigger red circles are supposedly Turk forces, we're not sure." At least forty red blips were on the move in a large group.

"Turks?!" Barret muttered curses to himself; the Turks were not good news. If Shinra was sending their elite agents to a quiet slum under the rotting pizza of Upper Midgar, they wanted something. "Where are they headed, Jessie?"

"From this, it looks like they're headed toward the Sector 7 support pillar."

"And from the number of troops they're sending," added Wedge, "it doesn't look like they're here to do routine repairs." Wedge realized what was going on, almost suddenly after he said it. "They know where we are!"

"What?!" Barret was surprised by this. "What are you talking about, Wedge? If Shinra knew where we were, they could have stormed us by now."

"They don't need to know our exact location! They already know what sector our base is in because we bungled our fake IDs during the last mission!"

"Crap!! They traced our tickets!"

"Exactly! And now, instead of searching the whole sector..." The map on the monitor showed the red cloud heading toward the center of the city. "...they're going to drop the plate!"

"The whole plate?!" shouted Jessie. "How?"

"By destroying that pillar! We have to stop them!" Wedge ran behind the counter to get his pack, but almost stepped on a little girl crying there.

"Uncle Wedge, I'm scared! I don't want the plate to fall!"

"Marlene!" Wedge forgot that Barret's daughter was playing behind the bar. "Don't worry, me and your daddy are going to stop the mean people from making the plate fall. Jessie!" Picking Marlene up carefully but quickly, he gave her to Jessie. "Now you be a good girl for Auntie Jessie, okay? She'll take you somewhere safe."

"Got it, Wedge. I'm gone." Wedge picked up his pack and raced out after Jessie, followed by Barret.

"We need backup!" Wedge yelled as he burst through the slums. "Man," he thought to himself, "I'm getting too roly-poly for this job." Taking out his radio, he called up a frequency. "Biggs! Biggs! Are you there?"

"Yeah, Wedge. I'm at the train station."

"Get over to the pillar fast! Shinra troops are going to drop the plate! Hurry!"

"I'm on it!"

"And tell everyone to evacuate, NOW!" He turned it off with a click. The two ran through the dingy slum, shouting warnings to everyone to evacuate immediately. Barret was quickly overtaking Wedge, who was dressed almost like a pirate in his red bandanna and ripped jeans. "This can't be happening," Wedge thought to himself as he ran. "This wasn't supposed to happen, not to me. Not yet. If we can't stop this, everyone above and below that plate is going to die."

They came upon the pillar just as Biggs stopped. "Biggs!" yelled Barret. "What's going on?"

"Shinra's right on my tail! I almost got caught as they left the station. They're not sending many soldiers here, but Reno is personally bringing them here by helicopter!" Reno, an elite member of the Turks, obviously had top security clearance. "He has the self destruct codes for the Pillar system!"

"We have to get up there and defend that terminal!" Barret concluded. The trio stared up at the tallest landmark in the sector, looking at the stairs which seemed to go on forever. "Let's go!"

Barret and Wedge raced up the stairs. "Wedge!" called Biggs. "I got your back! Just get up there to the terminal!" Looking back, Wedge saw that the Shinra helicopter approaching like a black demon, gaining altitude. While running, Wedge took his gun out of its holster and managed to get a few shots to hit the helicopter, but didn't cause any serious damage, Biggs fought his best against it, dodging, rolling and shooting; downing three passengers.

"Don't look back, Wedge!" Barret warned him. "Just run!"

A second helicopter climbed, passing Wedge quickly. "Barret! Incoming!"

"Got it!" Barret charged his gun laser and ran to catch up to the helicopter. Creating a large ball of light energy with his laser, he aimed and fired-"BIG SHOT- NOW!" The shockwave from the launch of the energy ball knocked Wedge over, sending him tumbling into the Shinra soldiers that were chasing him and now grabbing him, just five flights from the terminal. Wedge kicked a soldier away like a ball, but was overwhelmed by five more, pinning him down and pressing his face into the grating.

"Hold it right there!" yelled the soldiers. "This is the end of the line for you!"

"This is not the end of the line! No way!" He struggled with his captors, but was held fast by their efforts. A Shinra helicopter floated down and extended its walkway, and the soldiers holding him dragged him in. This really was starting to look like the end of the line.

The soldier in charge looked impressed. "Good work boys. Did a good job of arresting this rebel scum. Now go and get the guy on the roof! Reno should be here any second now, and he doesn't want to clean up after us. Go!" All the soldiers except the pilot and their leader went back onto the stairs. The soldier now addressed Wedge. "So, this is where you ended up, going against Shinra, eh? Hmpf. What would your brother think?"

Wedge, while helpless, was not about to sit here and take this abuse. "I don't care about Horace! He's too busy brown-nosing to see what Shinra is really doing to the Planet!"

"Well, I will have to agree with you on that point, but you see, he knew where his place was. Now," said the soldier, taking out his blaster, "your place is at the barrel of my gun."

Wedge turned cold. He didn't want to die, not here, not like this. "Okay, I give. What do you want?"

The soldier pushed the end of the gun into Wedge's chest. "Where is Cloud?"

Sweat poured from his pores. He was sure Cloud was alive, but he knew that he could get killed if he said the wrong thing to this man. "I don't know. I haven't seen him since our last assault."

Wedge winced in pain as the soldier pushed his gun in further. "Now, now, Mr. Palmer, I see that you are getting soft in more ways than one," he told him, twisting his cheek. "You weren't this big when you when went to school in Junon, as I recall."

Wedge knew he wasn't going to live though this. He knew this man, and now his face, an enemy of his from the beginning, was about to finish this. "Well, since you are so determined to be uncooperative, I guess I should be the one to inform Horace of your, ahem, untimely death." He gave Wedge another poke in the chest, charged the gun and-

-he was flying. He flew from the flaming craft, free of the man, free from his torture. For a split second Wedge lost all his worries. He was a bird, a light bird, a gliding bird, warm, toasty, hot, burning- and he landed as a smoky pile on the ground below. He didn't move- he couldn't even if he had wanted to, but he saw the fiery craft spin to the ground. At first, Wedge did not recognize their faces, he gave up on trying to look, but he could recognize their voices.

"Wedge! Wedge! Are you okay?"

"Cloud? Cloud! You... you remembered... my name…"

__

"Hey, Cloud! You want to hear my story?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Tifa always lets me taste her cooking. But look at me now, I'm all roly-poly. Say, if you do need someone to talk to, I'm always here."

"Never mind. Just buzz off, okay?"

"You're cold. Really mean, Cloud."

"Cloud? Go… Help Barret… I guess I wasn't much help."

"Cloud, just go on ahead. I'll help Wedge."

"Tifa? Tifa... is that you?"

__

"Wedge, could you come over here for a minute?"

"Sure, Tifa. What do you need?"

"Tell me if this curry needs anything."

"The curry's fine, but.."

"What's wrong, Wedge? Too hot?"

"Well... why do you say that?"

"Your eyes are watering."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead, its fine, I just wanted to say-"

"Yes?"

"Um, Never mind. Sorry I bothered you."

"Tifa- Tifa- stay here, please."

"Wedge, I would never abandon you. As your teammate and your friend, I would never do that."

"Just stay here, I won't be around long after this.." Wedge could feel himself getting very tired, but fought to stay awake. "Tifa, I-I need to tell you... something...."

"Wedge! Don't go on me now, okay? You're not going to die, Wedge! After we stop Shinra, we'll get you to a hospital up on the top, and you'll be okay, I promise."

"No, Tifa, don't kid yourself... I can feel that there won't be a tomorrow for me... just let me say this.. Remember.. Two days ago, when you asked me to taste your... curry..."

"Yes, I remember, Wedge. Just hold on."

"Tifa... I ...wanted to give you this...." Wedge, in his weakened state, had to make a tremendous effort to get the box out of his pocket. "This... was for you... I wanted to give it to you earlier..."

"A box?" It was a blue box, that, even though it was burned, looked like it came from Upper Midgar. It was smaller than her palm.

"Don't... open it yet, just remember... keep this with you when you want to remember me."

"Okay, Wedge, I will. Just-"

"No, Tifa, There's not much time left for... me..."

"I won't let you go, Wedge!" Her heart was throbbing. He was not going to die on her, as far as she was concerned. "Don't die yet!"

"Tifa, I... just wanted to... tell you… that....I lo-" He had to stop in the middle of his word, but he was thoroughly able to finish his meaning; Tifa had lowered her head to his, and they exchanged all of their breath, life, and meaning together in that moment when Wedge was unable to speak.

Tifa broke their connection. "I know, Wedge. I know. I won't leave."

He had never felt anything so powerful in his life, but he knew he couldn't hold on to it forever. "Tifa… you must go... Help Barret, save the sector. I know, ...I'm finished. Just, remember me."

"I will."

He tried to turn his head towards her to watch her leave, but then his eyes crossed another face, a radiant face- a bright face. She wore her hair back in a long braid, and she wore a somewhat dingy but pretty pink dress that buttoned up in the middle. Where had she been all this time? Not that it mattered anyway, Wedge knew his time was up.

She spoke. "Here, Tifa. You go on ahead. I'll take care of Wedge."

His eyes finally closed, and he could hear gunshots above him, but that didn't matter any more. He didn't want to die as a prisoner, he wanted to die as someone who was important to another human being...he wanted to fall in… he wanted to join the Planet... that was what he wanted...

*****

__

A fanfare blasted out of the speakers at the training center, overshadowed by an enormously long cannon facing the sea. It served as the alarm clock for everyone on the night shift of the Underwater Mako Reactor, including two groggy Palmers on their way to submarine training.

"Horace! Get up, you bum! The alarm just went off!"

"Come on, Wedge, just five more minutes, or hours..."

"I said 'Get up!' You do know what is going on today, don't you?"

"I dunno, I'm too sleepy to think right now."

"President Shinra is coming at one o'clock to inspect our sub! It won't look very good if one of us is missing tonight!"

"You go on ahead, I'll catch up. It's only 11:30."

"Arrgh! Fine! Go on! Throw away your work!" Angry at himself for having such a stupid brother, he took his clothes and towel to the dorm showers. "Why did I have to get stuck with him anyway? I didn't want to take him along to Military School, but Mom and Dad made me anyway. This is stupid!"

A friendly voice interrupted him while he was washing. "I see your brother isn't helping you much, Wedge."

"Hey Biggs. You doing the night shift today too?"

"Yeah, wanted to clean myself off a bit first, though. Pass the shampoo, would you?"

"Here. This is such a bad assignment. Here I am, the keeper of my blockhead older brother, who is about to be in a major inspection. I'll probably be held personally responsible for his screwups, too."

"Oh, it won't be that bad, Wedge. I heard that's it's only going to take a couple of hours at most. Bring the President on board, cruise around for two hours, collect wildlife samples, then come back. Not hard."

Wedge turned his shower off and towel dried. "You don't know my brother that well, then. Most of the time he's a total pain." Wedge put on his shorts and a shirt. "He's not even up yet."

"Really? I can't sleep through that horn. Besides, it goes off every six hours, waking everyone up ALL the time. How does he do it?"

"I don't know," Wedge told him, tying his red bandanna over his damp black hair. "Maybe his skull has natural padding."

Wedge felt a small pull, a tugging at him as he was floating through his dreamy sea. Wedge opened his eyes, and saw a hand pulling him from the darkness. Without thinking, he grabbed the hand, which was now pulling him harder. It tugged, jerked, stretched, strained to pull Wedge toward a warm light, a comforting light, a happy light...

"Tifa!" Wedge yelled himself awake. He stopped for a moment, disoriented. He saw himself in a warm room with gray stone walls and an open door. He sat up in his bed, wondering why he was in a bed. A wood-burning stove roared away, heating a whistling kettle. Everything felt so soft and comfortable, but he was starting to wonder how he got there and where 'there' was. He almost didn't notice the man who walked in, but he startled Wedge by speaking loudly.

"Oh, my!" exclaimed the bearded old man in surprise. "We have another visitor, Aeris!"

A heavenly chord struck the air. "Oh! I had no idea! Let me see!" Wedge didn't have to wait very long for her to come in. She had a pretty and round face, emerald eyes, and almost liquid brown hair in one long braid. Her voice washed over him again.

"Oh! It's you! The guy from the pillar!"

It was the same girl he had seen right before he died. "You…You were taking care of me… This is a dream. This has got to be a dream."

"Whatever makes you happy. And what's the big idea? You just went and died on me!" She walked toward Wedge and poked at him. "Look at you! You're a big guy, aren't you? But you look hungry. I'll make you something. What would you like?"

Wedge wasn't sure whether to be comforted or insulted. He suddenly remembered he had a strange curry taste in his mouth. "Tifa," Wedge thought to himself. "You left me my favorite taste.."

"Hmm. Aeris, he might not be fully awake yet."

Wedge suddenly went back to reality. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking. Do you have tea and curry?"

"I think I can whip some up for you," Aeris answered. "But, how rude of us. We haven't even given you a proper introduction yet, have we?"

"Oh, I see. Ahem. My name," said the old man, "is Banon."

"I'm Aeris," said the young woman, her pink dress flowing through the room. "Banon and I live here in Lifestream, if you could call it that."

"Lifestream? That means I'm.."

"Dead? Well, technically yes. We all are. I died a few weeks after you did, Wedge."

"Really? Then why were you here before I came?"

"Well, Lifestream is strange that way. Even I don't know how it works." She stopped stirring long enough to take a good look at him. "Those are the same clothes you were wearing before you died, aren't they?"

Wedge was too busy trying to find out where he was to actually look at himself, but he was relieved to find that he was still wearing his regular pirate clothes. "Yeah, this was about what I was wearing, Aeris."

"Well, I'd hate to be the one to tell you this, but…"

He didn't feel comfortable asking this, but he had to: "What…? Did Barret save the pillar? Did he even survive?"

"Barret is still alive as far as I know, but..."

"Oh, no...those poor people...dying for nothing..." Wedge tried to fight back the tears, but he just couldn't. He just let it out in small sobs at first. "How many died? How many?"

"Well, it was reported to be around fifty-thousand."

Wedge sat there, stupefied. "Fifty thousand people!" Wedge repeated. He let the number roll over in his mind. Then, his grief came in torrents, "Fifty thousand...and I was one of them. What about the rest of our group? Jessie, Biggs, Marlene, Cloud…" Aeris looked away when Wedge mentioned the last name. "What's wrong, Aeris?"

"Marlene and... Cloud... are alive. Jessie and Biggs, however... died right after you did."

"They died too?" Wedge couldn't take it. He didn't believe her. There must have been some mistake. But, she was sure that there was no mistake.

"I'm sorry, Wedge. Barret felt really bad about it when he went to Cosmo Canyon."

Wedge was sure now, but he thrust his wet face into his pillow, lying down again. "So many people; me, Jessie, Biggs, all dead..." He let himself go, but after a few minutes, realized that it was no use. He dried his face on his bandanna, revealing his messy black hair. He again attempted to make some sense of this situation, but found something was strange. "Aeris, I never told you my name. How did you know who I was?"

Instantly, she looked guilty and embarrassed, if a woman like her could do both at the same time.

__

"Tifa?"

"Yes, Aeris?"

"What is that?" she asked, looking at a box Tifa held in her hand.

"Nothing. Nothing, really."

"If it didn't mean anything, you wouldn't be keeping it."

"Aeris, you are almost right, there."

"Oh really? How?"

"This box used to belong to a man named Wedge."

"Used to?"

"He died while we were trying to defend the pillar in Sector 7."

"Oh. I see. What was he like?"

"He was a good man, better than most I've ever known, but, I've never opened it."

"Why not?"

"I can't keep holding on to the past. I see that every day, especially now that Cloud is around."

"Cloud? He's kind of a jerk, don't you think?"

"I know, but, before I move on, I want to pass this on to you."

"Can I open it?"

"We'll open it together."

"Oh! Look! There's a ring inside!"

"He left a picture......and a letter, too." She took out the picture and propped it up on her hand.

"Shall I read the letter?"

"Go ahead."

"Dear Tifa,

I know you do more than make curry and mix drinks all the time. A lot more. You're sensitive to other people feelings but can stand your ground when trouble comes, and I really like that. I think you care about me and I know that I care about you, so what I am really trying to say is that I-"

"That's enough, Aeris."

"Are you sure? This sounds like a sweet guy to me."

"I know, and that's what makes him so hard to forget, Aeris. I need to move on, but I am passing this on to you now."

"Me? But I didn't even know the guy!"

"You want to know something, Aeris? There are a lot of men out there in the world, and most of them are pigs. You'll run into most of them during your life because you are a young, beautiful and innocent girl, and they attract men who are total pigs. It's just male nature. But never lose faith, Aeris. Even if you run into every pig on the planet, just look at this picture, wear this ring, and remember that there are good men like Wedge out there, waiting for you to find them."

"I see. Thank you, Tifa. I'm sure he was a great guy. Not like Cloud, anyway."

"Wedge was very different from Cloud. Cloud is basically a total pig."

"Speaking of which, how is his night on the town with Barret going so far? Ha, ha, ha!" 

"Well, Tifa told me about you."

"Tifa... she's alive?"

"Yes, Wedge, she is alive."

"Does she still..."

"I don't know, Wedge. She didn't tell me that much about you."

"In any case, that's the best news I've heard so far, Aeris."

Banon called from the stove. "Aeris, the curry's done cooking! I also made a bit of rice!"

"Correction; that's the best news I've heard so far. I'm hungry," answered Wedge, thinking about it for a minute. He then asked, "But, if I'm dead, why am I so hungry?"

   [1]: mailto:candcrono@aol.com



	2. Guardians of Lifestream

Chapter 2: Guardians of the Lifestream

Chapter 2: Guardians of the Lifestream

__

"Wedge!"

"Yeah, Biggs?"

"Where's your brother? He should be here by now."

"He's really stupid if he hasn't started to get ready yet." Wedge, in his freshly pressed uniform, got up from his seat and walked into formation with the rest of the crew.

"Doesn't he have to be here for the President's welcoming march?" Biggs rose from his spot and did likewise, alongside Wedge.

"I personally made sure that he wasn't needed for this march."

"So, he gets to sleep in and you get to take his spot in the march. What a deal."

"I'm not exactly happy about it," grumbled Wedge. "At least it'll keep him out of trouble."

Lively parade music started to boom out of the speakers overhead, signaling the apartment dwellers lucky enough to face the street to open their windows.

"I guess it's time to go, Biggs."

"All I know is, Horace is going to miss one heck of a march."

Wedge sat down on the floor, crossing his legs under the polished black table Aeris had set up for the meal. Aeris went into the bedroom/kitchen to plate the food, leaving Wedge and Banon to sit and talk to each other.

"So, young man, how did you die?"

"I was defending the people in the slums from a falling plate," replied Wedge.

"That's not what I meant. I want to know how you died, not what you did to get yourself in harm's way."

"How I died? Isn't that the same thing?"

"I see. You don't really understand yet, but I can't expect you or anyone else to get it right away."

"Banon," called Aeris, coming in with the curry and rice. "Stop trying to confuse the poor man. He's already disoriented as it is."

"Have it your way, Aeris. You know, I almost thought he was the one for a minute."

Wedge again had to consider whether he was being complimented or not. "That's all right, Banon. But tell me, Aeris, what do you know about this world? I know I'm dead, but, I feel alive."

"Of course you do," Banon told him. "Lifestream has given you a second chance, if you can see it like that."

"Banon! Wedge, what Banon is trying to say is that you are alive in this after world we are in now. Here, let me show you." Aeris got up and opened a door, revealing a thriving mining town covered with a thin blanket of snow. People bustled up and down the road below, shoveling snow out of walkways and coal into stoves outside their houses. These people rushed and pulsed through this town, giving it a tangible pulse under the gray-green sky. "This is a town Lifestream recreated for its dead inhabitants. What was its name again, Banon?"

"I believe it was called Narshe, dear."

"That's right. This town, Narshe, existed around 500 years before we were born, and was a very lively city, at least, until the world changed suddenly."

"Changed? How?"

Banon took over. "There was a great empire in existence at that time which was very similar to your Shinra. It was led by a corrupt emperor named Gestahl, but was taken over by a man named Kefka, one of its generals. Kefka managed to bend the forces of magic to his own will by discovering three magical statues that controlled the balance of the world. A group of rebels I knew tried to stop him, but by the time they got to him, he had already killed the Emperor and moved the statues out of alignment, sending the world into chaos. It has basically taken your world about 300 years to fully recover."

"Is this true, Aeris?" Wedge asked. He found it hard to believe that magic had ever existed without Mako energy and Materia.

"I'm afraid it is, Wedge. Hurry up and eat, your food is going to get cold."

"Right." Wedge finally remembered the food sitting in front of him, and proceeded to eat. The taste of the curry, however, caused him to slow down and stop eating entirely.

"Wedge?" asked Aeris, "Is there something wrong?"

Swallowing quickly, Wedge answered. "Well, yes and no. There's something missing."

"Really?" asked Banon. "I've always made curry this way."

"Never mind, I'll show you later," Wedge told him, stopping the protest that was coming. He resumed eating.

"Wedge," asked Aeris, "what do you plan on doing now that you know you're a Guardian?"

Wedge put his fork down. This bothered him. "A Guardian? I don't even know what you're talking about."

"Aeris! Did you tell him he was a Guardian?"

"I did, Banon."

"Don't go putting stories into his head." He turned to address Wedge. "What did she tell you?"

"She just said that since I woke up with the same clothes I was wearing before I died, I was a Guardian of the Lifestream."

"Aeris!" He wrinkled his brow at the very thought. "Why did you tell him that?"

"I thought he was."

"Look at him! How could he be one?"

Wedge became annoyed at this point. "Excuse me, but I'm going to ask why you think I can't possibly be one of those Guardian things or whatever you're talking about."

Banon now directed his attention to Wedge. "Well, just look at yourself! You're kind of big to do the job," Banon told him, pointing to his belly. 

"Yeah? Well I did the right thing and tried to save people who were going to be killed by Shinra, so that has nothing to do with it!"

"Hmpf! I'm going. I don't care. You can go around thinking whatever you want." With that, Banon stood up, put his bowl in a room in the back, and went out into the city.

"Wedge!" cried Aeris. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what? He was insulting me!"

"I thought you were supposed to be kind!"

"He was acting like I did nothing to help those people before I died!" His eyes blurred, he remembered his efforts and their tragic deaths. "I tried to save them! I really did! I just...couldn't get to the terminal in time..." He turned his face away, he didn't want anybody to see him like this.

"Wedge, I, I..." Aeris regretted getting angry at him now. She couldn't bear to think that she could have hurt another person like this. "I'm sorry, Wedge."

"Forget it," Wedge told her, wiping his eyes with his hand. "I'm going back to the bedroom. It's not your fault." He stood up, cleared the dishes, and quietly shut his door.

__

"Attention! Forward March!" The commander was barking orders into the night air. His cruel face examined each soldier, checking their form, coordination, and gun movement.

"Psst, Wedge! Where do you think Horace is now?"

"On the sub! Either that, or he's still in bed."

The commander noticed Wedge's slight break in formation as he talked. He waited to see if he was really stupid enough to do that again.

"Maybe you should have sent a wake up call to his bunk, Wedge." Biggs was worried.

"I know, but there's nothing I can do now, is there?"

The commander, five rows behind, saw him fall out of place again and fell in step beside Wedge. "You! Cadet Palmer!"

Wedge gulped as he look to his left, trying hard not to break formation. "Y-yes sir?"

"I don't like your style! You'd better get focused now! When we get underway, you're getting in some serious marching practice! Now I don't want to see you screw up again!"

Biggs couldn't let Wedge get busted for something he started. "Sir! I was the one who started it, sir!" He managed to maintain his perfect formation while confessing.

"Is that so? Well then, you had better come with him and watch!"

Wedge's heart fell. First his brother, now this. The commander was about to humiliate him in front of Biggs, but he had to be focused. He was determined not to be caught again by the commander, who was marching next to him. He had to stay out of trouble. "Yes, Sir."

"Halt!" The crew stopped as one, including Wedge, trembling. "Prepare to greet the President!"

Wedge, following the others in his crew, nervously shouldered his rifle and held it in the air with both hands. All the soldiers looked up to see the President's helicopter descend in the moonlight. The soldiers then bowed in unison as the President disembarked with...

"Horace!" Wedge and Biggs couldn't believe their eyes when they saw it. Horace jumped off the helicopter in full uniform and bowed to the ground, in front of an amazed Wedge and Biggs.

"Very well, then, Mr. Palmer. Here is your crew." The president welcomed him to the group he was supposed to be with from the beginning.

"I am forever in your debt, sir," Horace groveled. "I was so shocked when the troops left without me. If I had been awakened on time, I would surely have been here earlier. Please forgive my tardiness."

"That guy is absolutely shameless," Biggs told Wedge.

"How did he get to ride with the President?" Wedge asked to himself.

"I am the one who should be thanking you, Palmer. We were lucky you came. But, the fact is that you are late, and someone is responsible." He turned to address the crew. "Who here is responsible for waking this poor soldier?"

Wedge gulped again, and came meekly forward. Bowing deeply, he said: "I'm his younger brother and his bunkmate, sir."

The president turned to Horace, who had not risen. "Get up. Tell me, what is his name?"

"Wedge, sir. Wedge Palmer."

"You there!" The President was giving Wedge a stern look. "You know that all soldiers for these shifts are to get up when the alarms go off, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"So why did you not wake your brother?"

"With all due respect, sir, he is a very heavy sleeper."

"Well, then. In Shinra, as in any company, there is expected to be a certain degree of unity and loyalty involved, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"But, how can we expect that from our soldiers if they don't have family unity?"

"We cannot, sir." Wedge knew he was getting at something, he felt that he was already under the knife.

"So, what are we to do about it? I was very fortunate to run into this young man when I did. He fixed the helicopter's engine so we could get airborne. But as for you, you require some teaching. So, after this mission, I am rewarding this man, Horace Palmer, with an advisor position at the Underwater Reactor." He then pointed to Wedge. "As for this impudent excuse for a brother you have, what is his rank?"

"I believe he is a Fourth rank, one higher that I am, sir." Horace told him.

"No longer. You, Wedge Palmer are now demoted to Second Rank. Furthermore, from now on, you will be this young man's personal assistant. Help him with whatever he needs and make sure he gets up on time and gets his work done. Is that clear?"

Wedge was inwardly shocked. He exploded internally, but somehow managed to keep calm. "Yes sir. I will, sir." His face was red.

"Now, then. You, Horace, take your new assistant and help the rest of the crew get ready for the mission. Let this serve as a reminder to everyone who doesn't appreciate the family they have now."

The crowd dispersed, leaving Horace and Biggs staring at Wedge, who had turned his bow toward Horace.

"Well, sir, what are your orders?"

"Oh, what have I done now?" lamented Aeris, working on the dishes in the sink. "He was just defending himself, that's all. I mean, he was just trying to help people. Why did Banon have to be so mean to him? I'm sure Tifa was right about him, and he seemed like a decent guy to me. But why did he have to get so defensive?

"He was just trying to say that he did the right thing. He even sacrificed himself to help a whole town. Sure, it was slums, but those are the people who need the most help right? But there's so much I don't know about him. All I know about him is what Tifa told me before I died. I could have asked Cloud or Barret about it, but Barret was mad all the time and Cloud," she paused with a shudder, "was trying to kill me.

"But it wasn't his fault, though. Remember, he was just being controlled by Jenova. He was still a jerk, though. A good-looking jerk, yes, but he was still a total jerk. He didn't even buy a flower from me when I ran into him.

"But Wedge, there's a man. He might not be as handsome as Cloud, but maybe its good that he's not like Cloud. He even looks kind of, I don't know, cuddly in a way. That pirate costume thing he has going on is nice too, but he behaves almost like the exact opposite of what a pirate should be. He helped people, and he's cute, sensitive, and-

"Oh, what am I saying? I don't even know him that well. I've only known him for a couple of hours and he's already fought with Banon. Now he's gone, and I'm alone, here. Doing the dishes. Great job, Aeris. All this brooding over the men who left me here to clean up by myself. Well, except for Cloud, anyway. Wedge will never be like Cloud. He cares too much. He probably took it as a personal insult that Banon said he was worthless.

"But he's not worthless. At least he has enough personal pride in himself to stand up for himself. I don't know why Banon became so opinionated, anyway. And he's SO old. Why am I even worried about him. He just stays here and keeps this house clean. Or at least, that's what he's claiming to do. I'm the one doing all the cleaning now, it seems.

"Why do I get stuck with all the unusual men? Not that Wedge is bad, it's just that he seems pretty selfless to me. Nowadays, that's a very strange characteristic to find in men. I only I could get to know him better."

Behind her, Aeris heard the creak of a door opening. Looking behind her, she saw Wedge come out of the bedroom. He had removed his bandanna and yellow shirt, wearing his undershirt, jeans, and boots. He had recovered his composure from the previous argument. "I'm sorry I left so suddenly, Aeris. Here, I'll do the rest of the dishes."

She was suddenly unsure of how much of her speech Wedge had heard, but she saw the sincerity in his face and decided otherwise. "Thank you, Wedge. Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

Wedge sat down quietly on the floor. "I'm also sorry that I... exploded in front of you like that." Making a short bow, he asked for her forgiveness.

"Boy, this guy means it," Aeris thought to herself. She answered: "Yes, Wedge. I forgive you. It wasn't even your fault, really."

"Do you really think I'm cut out to be a Guardian?"

"Yes, you definitely are Guardian material. But, I'm not very sure exactly what they do."

"It doesn't matter. In this new world, I'm not really sure what I'm going to do either."

"Wedge?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think that this is heaven or hell?"

"This world is too much like the real world to be either. My guess is that this must be some kind of between world, where you find yourself."

The front door burst open with a slam, revealing Banon, who had obviously been listening to them. "So, you two have finally figured it out. It took you long enough."

"Figured it out?" asked Aeris. "What did we figure out?"

"Ho, ho, you finally know the purpose of this world. This after world, this plane, is a fabricated world built by Lifestream to help people find their places in death. And," he added, "now that you know, there is no purpose for either you or the big guy over there to stay any longer. You must go."

"Why?" asked Wedge. "I just got here!"

"You're kicking us out?" gasped Aeris.

"You will understand everything when the time comes. But now, you must find your own paths. You must pack. Go in the morning." Banon left the doorway as abruptly as he appeared, inviting the cold air to come in.

Wedge felt the icy air ascend his bare shoulders and shivered. "I'm suddenly feeling underdressed. I'll go change."

__

"Your orders?" said Horace as more of a statement than a question. "Well, I have nothing specific for you to do yet, brother. For now, escort Mr. Biggs to the commander's office. You two probably have some business over there."

It was really happening. Wedge had almost thought that this was his opportunity to get away from that cruel-faced commander, but now Horace was ordering him to go. He decided that he had to humble himself before him to avoid it. "Please, sir, won't you reconsider? As a brother! I'll do anything you want."

"Don't brother me! I know you've always been jealous of my ability. You were even a jerk this morning. This is the perfect opportunity for me to get ahead and keep an eye on you. So go, do it."

"Wait!" Biggs interrupted. "Even though you're higher ranking than I am, I can't let you do this. Wedge, you go follow your brother. I have marching practice." He walked off, boarding the ship.

"Well, Wedge. Looks like he took the bullet for you. No matter, you still have to assist me. Here." Horace removed his pack and handed it to Wedge. "Carry this."

Wedge took the second pack without a word.

"Hee, hee. Now I have an assistant. Hmm, what to do with you? Ha, ha, ha!" Boarding the ship, Horace directed Wedge to his new room: a bunk in Horace's newly labeled office. "I have an office! What a life. Set our packs down, Wedge."

"Yes, sir."

"Now, go take a shower. You stink."

"Yes, sir. I did before I came, sir."

"Are you questioning my authority? Oh, I've ALWAYS wanted to say that."

"No sir."

"Hmm. Never mind. Conduct some scans for sea life on my terminal," said Horace, pointing to his new desk monitor.

Wedge sat down in the lavish chair and called up the required programs. "May I have permission to speak freely, sir?"

Horace propped his boots onto his new assistant's lap. "Hmm. If you thank me for not sending you to the commander, I might think about it."

Wedge was starting to think that it would have been a better idea to just go and take the commander's punishment. "Thank you, Horace."

"That's 'Mr. Palmer, Sir' to you. I outrank you now, remember?"

"Mr. Palmer, sir, please forgive my earlier outburst." Wedge saw that nothing less than complete politeness would suit him.

"Wait," ordered Horace. "Move over. Call up the security camera in the commander's room."

Wedge gulped. "Why, sir?"

Horace pointed to the door. "I want to see you squirm when you get there." He did not even look at Wedge leave as he watched Biggs on the screen.

Biggs wasn't having a good time himself. The commander had set up a treadmill wide enough for several people to use. Biggs saw that there was no way out, so he resigned to undress from the waist up. The commander's assistants had fit electrodes to several sensitive points on his upper body and thrust him onto the treadmill. These shocked him every time the captain saw him out of formation, but he was lucky that he was very good at marching.

"Well? Where is your friend Wedge now, hmm?"

"Wedge doesn't deserve this. He already has enough to worry about. You saw the scene out there, right?"

"Shut up!" He sent a shock through Biggs. "I didn't call you here to talk. I called you here to march!"

"Yes, sir," replied a trembling Biggs, unaware that he was being watched. "This guy is going to get it, one of these days," Biggs thought to himself as he continued on his forced march. He knew that it was either this or a serious demotion, and he worked too hard to risk his rank by not showing up.

"Biggs!" Wedge yelled as he saw him. "Commander, stop this machine!" As the belt slowed to a halt, Biggs almost collapsed from the shocks. "Biggs. You don't belong here. You're not the one that deserves this, I do. You!" Wedge pointed to one of the commander's assistants. "Take him off of this thing. I'm taking his place."

"But why? Wedge," mumbled Biggs, "I-"

"No, This is what my brother wants. This is what I have to take responsibility for." He undressed, lifted Biggs from the treadmill, and took his place. Once he was hooked up he looked at Biggs, then at the camera as the belt started moving, silently cursing his brother as he was jolted.

Wedge got dressed and looked in the other room, where Aeris was waiting. "Are you hungry?"

Aeris was feeling a bit empty. "Yes, I am. Don't worry, I'll cook though."

Wedge remembered the last meal Aeris and Banon had cooked and quickly interrupted her. "That's okay. I can cook. I'll make the curry this time."

Aeris was definitely surprised, but tried to hide it. "He can cook, too," she thought to herself.

"Where do you keep the ingredients?"

"Well, we don't buy them from anywhere. Lifestream provides all the food we need in this cabinet," she told him, pointing toward a large closet near the door to the kitchen. "It never runs out."

A magically refilling cupboard caught Wedge's attention. He opened the door and looked inside-

-and found a vast assortment of spices and vegetables, as well as a very well-stocked refrigerator. "You weren't exaggerating about that." He dug in, gathering curry powder, cubed beef, carrots, potatoes, rice, flour, and oil, taking them to the small table.

"What did you say was missing before?"

"These three things:" Wedge told her, putting them down on the table. "First: Turmeric, for color. Then, you put in fish sauce for flavor and coconut milk to give it a smooth texture. That makes a great curry."

"I never thought of that. How original."

Wedge took this as a compliment, and as he cooked, he made sure his years of curry tasting experience did not go to waste.


	3. Lone Wolf's Tomorrow

Chapter 3: Lone Wolf's Tomorrow

Chapter 3: Lone Wolf's Tomorrow

__

Wedge didn't know how, but he managed to muster the strength to walk back to his bunk after his ordeal was over. "Lucky me," Wedge thought to himself as he saw that Horace had already left his office. He changed into his spare uniform and put the one he was wearing into his pack. He was glad to get out of that sweat-soaked suit, and tried to take his mind away from the residual sting of the electrodes. 

"The things I do for my brother...That's the only reason I'm doing this," Wedge reassured himself as he walked to the galley. He just hoped that Horace wasn't there .

"Wedge!" The voice Wedge heard cut through his hazy thoughts. "You can still stand after that?!"

"Biggs? Yeah, it just smarts...a lot. Let's get a bite to eat."

"Okay. I managed to crawl out of there once you arrived." He paused. "I was taking the bullet for you, Wedge. Why did you have to go?"

Wedge let out a painful sigh. "We were in that together. Even if Horace had ordered me to stay at his office, I would have eventually come for you." The pain of the shocks was gone from his body, but still fresh in his mind.

Taking their trays, Biggs found an empty table and sat down. "Wedge, that's noble of you and all, but you can't put up with a guy like Horace forever. Even if he is your brother, are you still planning on staying his assistant?"

"You don't even know half of what he did to me as soon as I walked through that door. He's really milking this thing for all he can get."

"So why even stay? You should ask to get a transfer."

"No, I can't. Even if they were able to accept a transfer on such short notice, I can't do it."

"Why? I'd go with you. Technically, I'm the same rank as Horace, so you could pretend to be my assistant."

"No, Biggs. I hate what he's doing, yes. I can't stand losing all my hard work to become a stupid assistant." Wedge looked down into his plate. "But, I have to do this."

"You still can't tell me why! Why are you letting everyone walk all over you like this?"

"I made a promise."

"What?"

"Before I left home, my mother and father made me promise to take care of Horace. They told me to do everything in my power to make sure he got to the top so he could bring fame to the Palmer family."

"Why can't you be the one that goes to the top? Why can't you try to make a name for yourself?"

"I'm only the little brother. If I managed to get to a high position and leave my brother behind, what would that say about Horace?"

"It would prove he's a total dolt. We already know that."

"Of course I know that. I tell you about it all the time. But Horace was already the favorite of the family before I was born. My parents are counting on him to make a good impression of the Palmer family. I can't give them anything less, it would hurt even more that this to disappoint them." He looked up. "That's why I'm staying with Horace."

Biggs saw that Wedge would never give up his parent's dream, even if he had to become a martyr to do it. "All right. If that's what you have to do, all I can say is that you're too honest for your own good sometimes."

"That was delicious! I never knew curry could taste so good!" Aeris exclaimed as she started to clear the dishes.

"It's just my own recipe. Nothing special."

As she started to wash, she looked back at Wedge, who was busy scrubbing the table. "How old are you?"

Wedge had trouble answering this, since he had no clue how much time had passed since his death. "Well, I was about 22 when I died."

"My age too," thought Aeris. She finished washing the last plate and walked to where Wedge was now sitting. "What do we do now?" she asked, looking down at Wedge. Her long, braided hair was hanging down, almost touching his.

"Well," answered Wedge, "we should start packing and get some rest."

"What exactly can we pack? You're the only one that has a backpack, let alone things to pack."

"Well, I didn't pack any extra clothes, either. Don't you have an extra dress?"

"Well, now that you mention it, no, I don't. Lifestream always took care of it for me."

Wedge couldn't stand the thought of traveling without at least an extra change of clothes. "Lets hit the shops, then. I have a feeling we're going to need the clothes."

"Do you have any money?"

"Well, I have about 10,000 Gil on me now. That should be enough."

After counting the money, Wedge took his pack and led Aeris into Narshe.

__

Wedge heard the sound of the horns. He let the thought cross his mind; maybe he could hide in this bunk forever and forget he even had a brother. He finally gave up and anticipated what was coming, so he stood by the door, waiting for his brother to come in.

Horace stuck his red face through the door and let the rest of his body stumble in after it. "Whee! Hoo-boy! Those executives sure know how to have a good time!"

Wedge noticed that he was obviously intoxicated. "Sir, have you been drinking?"

"Quite right," answered Horace, staggering. "Hey, assistant! Assist me with this chair!" His speech slurred and his breath smelled heavily of sake.

"Yes, sir," Wedge said as he broke his fall with the chair. "Just get some rest, sir."

"Not so fast," mumbled Horace. "I'm on my way up, you know." Horace started to hiccup. "When we get back, I'm on my way to a very important int-interview (hic) that I want to pass. (Hic) Heck, I could even be (hic) the pre-President's assistant(hic)."

Wedge wasn't sure he heard correctly, but he hoped he could rely on Horace's drunken rambling. If Horace could get that high up in the power structure, he would have done his job. Laying in his bunk, he closed his eyes. "I'll do anything I can to make sure he gets that job," Wedge vowed. "Then, I'll go out and make myself famous too... I'll make Mom and Dad proud..."

Wedge didn't know it was possible for women to be so indecisive.

"Oh my! That dress would look fabulous on me! But this one looks nice, too. And look at this! This is just adorable! Wedge, which one would you prefer?"

Wedge had already wasted no time in buying his gear: a new backpack, yellow shirt, jeans, and boots. He was however, very practical in his answer. "Just get something that fits well and doesn't chafe. Just something simple like what you're wearing now is fine."

This apparently wasn't the answer Aeris wanted, so she kept looking anyway.

Wedge saw something that caught his eye. "I found something," Wedge said, holding up a women's sailor suit. Its white and pink tones complimented the tasteful rippled skirt that came with it. "Is it you?"

Aeris could not believe her eyes. It was perfect! She had never seen anything like that before in her life! "How did you know? I'll take it!"

"No, I will!" A sinister looking creature burst from a display case and grabbed their bags and new clothes, bolting out the door.

"Thief!" wailed Aeris, who was knocked down by the lupine robber. "Help! Thief!"

Wedge went to Aeris's aid, helping her to her feet. "What?! Where?" 

"He went out the door! He's getting away with our bags! Hurry!"

Almost without thinking, Wedge sprinted out of the store. Looking in both directions, he saw the thief run up an alley. Wedge dashed through the crowd, dodging people as they came, but being very careful not to hit anyone. He darted down the alley, winding through it and following the thief's footsteps as they crunched through the snow.

The thief stopped. "Dead end..." He thought to himself, hearing Wedge's heavy breath as he approached.

"I don't know why you stole from me but you're going to get it!" Wedge called out as he approached the end of the alley. The thief saw Wedge at the end of the alley and called out, "Ha! You're a joke! I am Lone Wolf, the greatest thief in Narshe! And, dead or alive, you won't catch me! What a pitiful sight!"

Wedge looked up to where the call was coming from and saw Lone Wolf perched on the snowy rooftop above him. "You're right! I can't get you while you're up there!" Before Lone Wolf could jump away, Wedge charged the building at full speed. A deafening slam was heard as Wedge collided with the wall at full force, cracking it and sending Lone Wolf down into the alley in an avalanche of snow.

Lone wolf was stunned. When he was finally able to get up he felt a very angry Wedge pull his collar. "Now I've got you." The last sound he heard was his face colliding with Wedge's fist.

__

Wedge woke up to hear a shower going in the next room. "4:00 in the morning. I get the feeling this wasn't some routine mission." Knowing that Horace couldn't be awakened by any amount of screaming, he called out to the only person who would be showering at this hour. "Biggs?"

"Yeah."

"What are you doing up at this hour, sir?" Wedge called as he gathered his clothes and towel, mocking his higher-ranking friend.

"Stop that 'sir' stuff. We're just buddies right? Same as always."

"Well, you do outrank me, Biggs."

"Yeah, because of Horace's blind luck. Well, then, I order you to come here and have a decent conversation without all this 'sir' nonsense."

"Right away, Biggs," Wedge answered, jokingly.

While Wedge undressed, Biggs talked. "So, how's it going with you?"

"I'm fine. Just wondering, that's all."

"About what?"

"How long have we been out of port?"

"About four hours."

"That's not really the problem, then."

"Isn't it?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, I was told that we were sent out here to collect wildlife samples while we transported the president."

"What's so unusual about that?"

"I've received readings that say that there are no other signs of life within a half-mile radius of the reactor."

Wedge couldn't believe this. "That's impossible! This shoreline should be teeming with life! Isn't that why they picked Junon as a good spot?"

"That's what they say. After what I found, I would have to believe it."

Wedge knew what the natural conclusion was. He didn't even need to say it.

"The reactor is sucking away the life in the ocean, Wedge."

"I know what you're going to say, Biggs. You want me to help you get proof."

"I was going to ask you that, but I know you can't."

"Right."

"If you did, that would jeopardize your chance to make your brother into something. I know how much your parents mean to you. That's why I can't ask you."

Wedge turned his shower off and got dressed. "But, we're in this together, Biggs."

"You don't have to get involved. I'm just telling you because you're my best friend, Wedge, rank, or no rank."

"Biggs..."

"I already told you, I'm not trying to make you choose between me and your family, Wedge. I'm just letting you know."

Wedge assured himself that his obligation to Horace would not last long.

"That thing took our clothes?" Aeris poked the Wolf-Man, who was tied securely to a pole Wedge had driven into Banon's front yard.

"Yes, and his name is Lone Wolf." He was aching from the collision, but was otherwise not even winded. "Hmm. He doesn't look too smart, either."

Lone Wolf looked like a wreck. Swelling had developed over the fur near his right eye, which was starting to open.

"Looks like he's coming to," Wedge announced, rubbing his hand as if it was dirty. "Maybe he can tell us something about this place."

Lone Wolf saw his captors and found that he was unable to move. "Hey! What's the big idea here? Let me go right this second!"

Wedge put on a surprisingly intimidating face. "The big idea is, " emphasizing the point by prodding the thief, "is that punks like you shouldn't be stealing from other people. Why are you doing this to people who are already dead?"

"Ah, they hated me when I was alive, anyway."

"I'm sure you were a thief while you were alive, weren't you?"

"Yeah, yeah, I was a thief before I died. So what are you going to do about it? Hmm? Tie me up? You already did."

Wedge was getting tired of this hoodlum's arrogance. "Aeris, I don't think he's getting the picture yet. What do you say?"

"Well, he has been very rude. I can't imagine a good person would steal from people. Especially dead people."

"That settles it. Aeris, can you give me my pack?"

"Sure," Aeris said, giving him his pack. "Why?"

"Oh, what are you going to do, whack me with the bag I stole?" Lone Wolf teased.

Wedge dug through his pack. Finding his Materia Blaster, he took it out and carefully aimed and fired at a nearby boulder, causing a loud explosion. Everyone around them turned to look, and as the smoke cleared, they saw that the rock had been totally vaporized. He then turned the gun on Lone Wolf and took a step back.

Lone Wolf was paralyzed with fear. He didn't want to die again.

"You've just thrown away your last lifetime, Wolf." Wedge powered up his blaster.

"No! No, no, no, no, no! Please don't kill me! I'll be good! I won't steal from anybody ever again! I don't want to die! Please!" Lone Wolf had a look of dread on his face.

"Aeris! What do you think? Does he mean what he's saying?"

Lone Wolf pleaded, "Yes! Yes! I do! I do!"

"Shut up!" Wedge shouted, turning his attention back to Lone Wolf. He aimed and fired again at where the boulder once stood, leaving a large crater under the dust cloud. "If you don't want to be blasted, keep your mouth shut until we tell you! Aeris! What's your verdict?"

Aeris was unsure of what to make of this situation. Tifa never told her Wedge could be like this. All she had seen before was the soft side of Wedge; the Wedge that cried and cared about people and made curry, but the look in his eyes now said that he was cold inside. They were almost familiar... "It's up to you, Wedge." She decided to test him. She hoped and prayed that Wedge would not be one to kill a thief over some clothes.

Wedge now pointed the gun at Lone Wolf, charging it with a high-pitched hum. "Well, then. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"I-I-I'll return all of the things I stole!"

Wedge was pleased to hear this, but did not show it. "Oh, really? How? You're tied up and I've got a gun pointed at you."

"Here! He motioned to his vest pocket. There's the keys to the treasure! I hid all of it under that house!"

Wedge reached into the wolf's pocket and grabbed the keys, throwing them to Aeris. "Which house?"

"Please don't kill me!"

"I'm not going to kill you yet. You had just better hope you cooperate and help us return all the things you stole!"

"Y-yes sir. There's a locked chest under the clothing store. You have to go under the stairs to get it." 

Wedge stood there, pointing the gun at the thief, thinking about his confession. He stayed for a few tense seconds, waiting to see if the effect of his speech had sunk in or not. When Lone wolf had finally given up and closed his eyes to wait for the shot, Wedge put his gun to his holster. "I'm not going to kill you yet." Handing the gun to Aeris, he told her, "Wait here. I'll check it out. If he tries anything funny, kill him."

Aeris held the blaster in her hand and pointed it at the ground. It was still hot and sweaty from Wedge. "I can't kill him, Wedge."

"I'm not planning on having you do that. He won't try to escape. But," Wedge paused to take another look at Lone Wolf, "he might be telling the truth. I've got to at least try to trust him, even if he is a thief."

As Wedge walked back to the store, Aeris thought about what Wedge had told her. His words reassured her that he was never really planning to kill him. He was still the same lovable Wedge. "All right, you thief, " Aeris yelled, "you'd better not try anything funny with me because I'm not as lenient as Wedge is. Got it?"

Lone Wolf saw that she was dead serious.

Wedge found the door underneath the stairs easily, but getting in was the hard part. "I've already tried ten keys on this door! Why doesn't it work?" He punched the door in frustration, causing it to splinter into pieces. "I guess that's why."

__

Horns blared loudly through Wedge's brain as he slept. He promptly got up and proceeded to wake Horace out of his slumber.

"Sir? Sir, it's time to get up. It's 10:00, sir."

Horace silently mumbled curses to himself as he rose from his chair. "Is that what time it is? This is annoying. And what are you doing here?"

"Well, sir, the President made me, your little brother, your new assistant yesterday, sir."

Horace was obviously feeling the aftereffects of the alcohol on his body. "Oh yes, that's right. Well, since you're here, I've got a stack of budget forms on my desk over there waiting for this stamp." Horace shoved Wedge into the chair, which he vacated quickly. "Now, don't disturb me while I prepare for my video interview." He flopped down in his bunk and started snoring. Wedge wasn't about to invoke his wrath by bothering him again.

Wedge finally got around to taking a look at the paperwork. Nothing really caught his eye, so he started stamping Horace's personal seal into the required boxes.

Though the door was closed, he heard the showers start up in the next room. Wedge almost called for Biggs, but stopped himself when he remembered his brother. He was so focused on his work that he couldn't hear the pair in the showers next door.

"So, is the schedule going as planned?"

"Without a hitch, sir."

"What did you do with those budget papers?"

"I sent them over to that Palmer idiot. He probably has no clue what he's signing."

"Shh! He's next door."

Neither of these voices were Biggs'.

"Who cares? You heard his stupid brother. 'With all due respect, sir, he's a very heavy sleeper.' Give me a break."

"I'll have you know, I think that man would make a very commendable soldier someday."

"Do you think so, sir?"

"Of course. He's responsible, he came forward. He even had tact."

"But sir, you demoted him."

"A necessary casualty. I need more people like Horace on my staff."

"Why sir?"

"He's easily manipulated. He's also a chronic brown-noser. Sensible, intelligent men like Wedge Palmer need not get in the way of my plans."

Wedge stopped stamping and took a good look at exactly what he was stamping.

"I see, sir. What should I do about it, sir?"

"Horace is already within my grasp. But, this Wedge character will be a painful thorn in our sides if not treated correctly. Can you arrange for some, shall you say, private training?"

"What did you have in mind, sir?"

"The Turk initiation camp."

"Isn't that a bit harsh?"

"That's what I'm hoping for. There, he will be either crushed, like a little bug, or will emerge as Turk material."

"I'll have to agree with you there. If he goes, I'm sure he'll be successful."

Wedge dripped with sweat as he read on. "Materia growth crystals? Underwater missile turrets? Mako explosives? Virus matter?" Wedge asked himself. "What does this mean?"

"Why do you say that?"

"He has some kind of obligation to his parents to make Horace into something decent. Sometimes it pays to have constant audio surveillance of this ship."

"Ah. I see, Commander." The showers went off. "Well, then, I'm leaving you in charge of getting him into the camp. See to it personally that he becomes a model soldier."

"Yes sir, Mr. President."

"I've got it!" Wedge dragged out the chest. Its sheer weight caused all of his muscles to bulge as he was straining to get it to Lone Wolf and Aeris. Once he got it to the street, he moved behind it and pushed it over the road with all his might.

Lone Wolf's jaw dropped when he saw Wedge push the chest toward him. "Y-You could move that?!"

Wedge puffed out his tension and regained his stern look. "What did I tell you?"

"Y-you told me to shut up, Wedge, sir."

"So, do you want me to rip you apart or not?!"

Lone Wolf believed every word he was saying, convinced that he was fully capable of killing him with or without the blaster. "No, sir. Please don't kill me, Wedge, sir."

"Stop your bawling. I'm going to open this thing now, and there had better not be any surprises, so tell me NOW!"

Wedge's voice slammed into Lone Wolf's head. "N-no wait! Don't open it yet!"

"Hmm? What's that?" Wedge asked, not letting up on the thief.

"Th-There's a booby trap! If you open it, it'll kill you!"

Wedge's expression changed slightly. He was finally getting somewhere with this wolf. "Well, then. Thanks for telling me." Retrieving his blaster from Aeris, he pointed it at Lone Wolf. "I'm not going to shoot you, but you are going to disarm that chest, understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." With one hand pointing the blaster at Lone Wolf, Wedge pulled out the pole with the other, letting the ropes fall. "Move! Open the chest!"

Lone Wolf stepped out of the ropes as he walked toward the chest. "Do you still have the keys?" Wedge tossed the key ring to him. Lone Wolf walked around the chest and Wedge followed, looking for the proper keyhole. Sticking one of the keys into a small hole in the wood of the chest, Lone Wolf gave it a turn. "It's disarmed now, Wedge, sir." He tossed the keys back to Wedge. 

"Aeris! Tie him up with those ropes again!"

"Wedge, sir!" Lone Wolf looked pale through his fur. "I disarmed the chest!"

"Just in case this thing blows up in my face, you'll be around to serve your punishment!'

Aeris did a good job of tying him up again, from the waist up this time. "All set!"

"Then let's open it!" Wedge put the master key in the keyhole and looked inside. Coming back from the chest, he looked satisfied. In a loud voice, Wedge yelled to the city. "People of Narshe! I believe the items in this chest belong to you. If you want to claim them, line up here in an orderly fashion!"

Within half an hour, the residents of Narshe had filled the main street in a line. Each one had something to claim that had gone missing because of this wolf, who was forced to apologize to everyone he stole from. By midnight, only four people remained.

"Do you have my sword? It's long, but really dull."

"Here you go. Say sorry to the little fellow, Wolf."

"I'm really sorry I stole from you."

"Did that thief take my red purse?"

"Here it is, ma'am."

"I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Wedge. What a nice man..."

"Didja take my canny, you teef?"

"Hey, little one!" Wedge looked in the chest. "I'm sorry, but there's no candy in here."

"I should be sorry. I was the one that ate it."

"Oh pooie! You meen woof!"

"Now, now, what do we have here?" Wedge searched the wolf and found his coin purse. Opening it, he took out a few gold pieces and gave them to the kid. "Here, buy yourself some candy."

"Tanks, misser!"

The last one was a familiar face. "Wedge!"

"Banon!"

"So, you finally know why you were brought here."

Wedge was about to say that he didn't, but he stopped himself. He did know why he was here. "Yes, Banon. I see what you mean."

"You know, everyone here has a purpose dictated for them. Artisans, merchants, warriors like you, Wedge, and thieves like him-" Banon pointed to Lone Wolf, "have a purpose here. However, the world, living or dead, will never be perfect-"

"I know, Banon."

"Don't interrupt me. I can see it in you, Wedge. You don't know it yet, but you've already shown great potential."

"I have?"

"It was no accident how you managed to stop Lone Wolf. No one could do it while he was alive. Now look at you: you've single-handedly saved these dead people from the greatest thief they have ever known."

"I-I don't know what to say." Wedge was obviously flattered, but tried not to take it too seriously. "I guess I should get ready to leave, Banon."

"Yes."

Wedge looked down at Lone Wolf. "Get up, you."

He had slept through Banon's whole speech. "I'm up, sir. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Tomorrow, you're leaving with me."

The word tomorrow gave him hope. "Tomorrow? I... have a tomorrow..."

"Wedge? I'm going back to the house. Get some rest."

Wedge watched him walk back to the house. "Now, Wolf," Wedge told him, "I have my doubts about you." He still held the blaster in his hand, but now it was being flicked idly. "How long were you a thief?"

"All my life, Wedge, sir."

"That's going to change right here and now." Wedge's voice matched the calm of the moonlight. "Kneel, thief."

Lone Wolf did his best to kneel while he was tied.

"Repeat after me! ' I," and state your name, ' do solemnly swear-"

"I, Lone Wolf, do solemnly swear-"

" '-to be honest, good, and truthful,-' "

"-to be honest, good, and truthful,-"

"-and a help to the people, on pain of death."

Lone Wolf gulped, and recited: "-and a help to the people, on pain of death."

"Now, you may get up. Come with me, there's a warm fire waiting inside."

"Yes, Wedge, sir. And,-"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for leaving me a tomorrow."


	4. Elena

Chapter 4: Elena

Chapter 4: Elena

Dawn broke over the clear sky surrounding Narshe and watched over the three figures in the snow-covered field.

"Wedge, are you sure its safe to do this?"

"Aeris, I think he's learned his lesson." Wedge looked over to Lone Wolf, who was looking down at the rope that held him. "Lone Wolf!"

The thief looked up, his eyes drawn to Wedge's.

"Turn around." Lone Wolf did so. Wedge took a small pocketknife out of his pack at swiftly cut the bonds tying him in one stroke. The ropes fell around Lone Wolf's feet.

"Sir?"

"The name is Wedge. As for you, you're free to go. Remember what I told you."

"Wedge. I will."

"Go already! I don't want to catch you doing any stealing anymore."

Lone Wolf started to run, but stopped after about three yards. "Wedge!"

"Yes?"

"Next time we run into each other, I hope we meet as friends, not enemies." Lone Wolf broke out into a full sprint, away from Narshe.

"So do I, Lone Wolf."

__

Wedge and Horace stood by themselves in a glass elevator, watching the coastline of Junon descend.

"See, little brother! I'm about to be INTERVIEWED by the President himself! Oh, I'm so lucky! If he likes my style, I'll get an even better position! I'm moving up!"

Wedge could not bring himself to focus on the situation at hand. He thought about what Biggs had told him about the reactor while they were at sea. Since then, Wedge had not seen Biggs, or even contacted him. There was also the mystery of the budget papers he had stamped with Horace's seal. Something told Wedge that this was not going to be a regular reactor. "Yes, sir," Wedge mumbled, answering his brother's gloating.

The elevator bell rang. "What's the matter, little guy? This is what our parents always wanted, right? I could get a huge promotion out of this, you know."

Wedge stepped off the elevator. "Nothing's wrong, sir." Wedge lied. Though he was so close to what was trying to work for, he couldn't keep his mind away from Biggs and the strange paperwork he signed.

"Don't 'nothing' me! You're not even thinking about the interview, are you? If you screw this up, I don't know what'll happen!"

Wedge put the questions out of his mind. "Yes, sir. I'm focused now, sir."

The brothers walked down the hall, passing the doors of Shinra executive offices as they stepped into a large, wide room. The only prominent furniture in the room was a desk and two chairs on either side of the desk. The chair across from them swiveled to face them, revealing the old face of President Shinra. "Welcome, Palmers. Horace, you brought your brother. How thoughtful of you. Please, have a seat."

Horace bowed and settled into the chair, leaving Wedge to stand at his side. "I am very honored that you have invited me for this interview, sir."

"I'm sure, Horace. Now, I've been looking through your records and I've liked what I've seen so far. However..."

"Yes, sir?"

"You haven't really been in any position to make important decisions in your career."

"Sir?"

"If you are going to be one of my advisors, I would expect someone that would be able to apply some personal experience in the workplace."

"Of course, sir."

"The catch is, you can't really advise if you don't have the job, and to be an advisor, you have to have some experience in that field."

"That is unfortunate, sir."

"So, let's find a loophole, then. I need a good soldier for a recently opened position in the Turks."

"Really? What happened, sir?"

President Shinra took a few pictures out of his pocket. "This," he said, holding up a man's photograph, "was a Turk that became missing in action over a year ago. He was on a special assignment at Mount Nibel when we suddenly lost contact with him." He put the picture away. "Since his disappearance, I have been personally screening our armies to find possible replacements. So far I have found only seven soldiers good enough to cover this position, but, one more could make that a nice even number."

"Why would you need seven soldiers for one position?"

"Ah, I see you have some foresight when it comes to issues like these. Of course, I cannot take all of the candidates at once, Horace. I plan on finding which of these seven-" he paused, "-or potentially eight soldiers is the best by bringing them here." President Shinra held up an aerial shot of some type of military camp. "This is the newly built Turk training facility, located on an island east of the ice continent."

"It looks harsh, sir."

"It's supposed to be, Mr. Palmer. It will basically be a tournament. The soldiers face off against each other in a series of contests of strength and intelligence. Then, whoever comes out on top will be the next Turk."

"Where do I come in, sir?"

"Do you know anyone who could be the eighth soldier I'm looking for? Anyone at all?"

Wedge shifted his weight for a moment, uneasy at what he had to do. Horace's expression went blank; he didn't really know anybody period, and couldn't think of someone even when his promotion depended on it. This was his only chance to get Horace up on his pedestal and finally out of his life for good.

Wedge knelt and bowed his head to the carpet toward Horace. "Sir! I would be greatly honored if you would recommend me for this program!"

"You? Wedge Palmer?" Horace was confused by his brother's quick thinking.

President Shinra liked the display Wedge put on. "Well, it seems like we have a new candidate, Horace."

"What? Oh, yes, I was just about to say that. Yes, I recommend my brother, Wedge, sir."

"Very well, then. If this man ends up to be a good choice, I would gladly bring you over to Midgar Headquarters." He turned his attention to Wedge. "You may very well turn out to be better than I thought you were. You will leave tonight for the camp. Dismissed."

Wedge stood up. "Yes, sir."

The brothers left the office and were led in opposite directions by several of the President's staff. Wedge did not look back as Horace was brought to the elevator. He was being led to the President's personal helipad.

"What a beautiful morning, Wedge! Isn't it pretty?"

Wedge looked up at the orange and pink beams of light cutting through the clouds. "It is certainly very colorful, Aeris." Wedge stopped for a moment.

"What's wrong, Wedge? Are you cold?"

Wedge looked down at his boots in the bright snow. "No, it's just that this sunrise reminds me of someone."

"Really? Who, Tifa?"

"No! Not Tifa. A... different person."

__

Wedge woke up with a terrible headache and found that he wasn't even in the building anymore. "What happened?" He looked around and saw that he was inside a tent with a dirt floor. His pack and clothes lay beside the cot he was sitting on. "I'm here already? That was quick." Standing up and taking a good look at himself, he noticed that he was dressed in dirt colored pants and boots. He was also marked with a large eight on each of his bare shoulders. 

The flap of the tent suddenly gave way to a dark form. A man in a dark sport coat strode into the tent, walking around Wedge. "Ah," he said in a quiet voice, "you're awake. That's good, I like early risers."

Sunlight flowed into the tent, reflecting from Wedge's broad chest. "I take it you are also an early riser."

"Hmm. Observant too. I already know your name, so it is common courtesy to tell you who I am. My name is Tseng."

Wedge turned to face Tseng, who had come around to the opposite side of the cot. "So, you must be a Turk."

"You prove me right again, Wedge Palmer. Of course, don't be surprised if I'm the only one who bothers to learn names at this point." Tseng pushed back a bit of stringy black hair from his face and looked at Wedge again. "You are number eight. And, a very good one, from what I see." He continued to circle Wedge. "But, of course, it takes more than physique to become a Turk, you realize. Come."

Wedge found himself following Tseng out of the tent and through a dry dirt field. "Where exactly are we going?"

"We are not going anywhere. I am going to awaken the last few soldiers and you are going to get over to that gate as soon as possible." Tseng pointed to a large wooden arch in the distance. "Most of the recruits are already there. Move quickly." Tseng rushed away, towards other tents, leaving Wedge to travel to the gathering of soldiers in the desert.

"What do I keep doing to myself? I go from being a regular soldier to Horace's assistant, and now this! All in one week!" Wedge let out a sigh and wiped the sweat on his forehead. He also noticed that his bandanna was missing, but it was too late to go back for it.

"Hey, you! Slowpoke!" A familiar voice called out from the group. "Get over here!"

"Biggs! You're here!" Wedge was relieved. He started running toward the group, which was now being joined by people running in from several directions.

"Easy there, big guy. Save your energy." Biggs coaxed him out of running, and the two friends were reunited. Biggs had a large seven painted on his shoulder.

"What's going on? I thought you were a goner."

"They probably don't know yet. I downloaded the sensor records someplace safe, so the evidence is with me. How have you been?"

"I've been worrying about you. It wasn't like you to just suddenly disappear like that."

"Yeah, well, I got an offer I couldn't refuse," Biggs told Wedge, turning to reveal several scars on his back. "I'm stuck here."

Wedge wasn't about to go into the details, but he told himself he would find out later. "What are we doing now?"

"Well, I'd say, that in about two minutes we are going to start running."

"Running?"

"Yeah. The last four finishers are going to be eliminated from the contest."

"It's not a contest. They're going to be looking for a new Turk."

"Oh? Is that what it is? In any case, I can't lose."

"What? I though you wanted to get off this island."

Biggs moved to the starting line and took his place among the others. "I don't think I can afford to."

"Can I have your attention, everyone?" Tseng called to the crowd. "This is not just a regular race. It's more of an obstacle course. The path you will take will be through this field, over that hill, under the wire, over the wall of dirt, and through the mud. Then, take your flag and run back here. You may begin now!"

Taken by surprise, the entire group shifted and started running. Wedge charged forward, reminding himself what was at stake here. He quickly caught up with the rest of the group as they reached the hill. A brave soul tried to sneak around the hill, but fell through the ground, swallowed by a trap. Wedge hit the hill at full speed, scrambling up as he tripped over loose clumps of dirt. He reached out for something, anything he could grasp to regain his footing, and sent a another man to the bottom as Wedge grabbed his boot. Wedge shouted a quick apology to his unlikely victim and leapt to the bottom of the hill in a single bound. 

Wedge quickly got back to his feet as he ran toward the barbed wire. Meanwhile, one of the soldiers had run up alongside Biggs, trying to trip him. Wedge saw this and quickly tackled the troublemaker, sending him to the ground, unconscious.

"Thanks!"

"Just get to the finish line!"

After making sure that the man he had flattened was still breathing, Wedge scrambled under the wire, wincing in pain as the sharp points cut into his unprotected back and arms. Ahead of him, he had already seen Biggs climb the wall, which was really more of a mound of soil with a rope attached. Ignoring the cuts on his back, Wedge got to his feet and ran to the rope. He pulled himself up the wall, half-climbing and half-repelling. He thought that he had a solid hold on the top of the wall, but the dirt under his left foot gave way, sending him rolling into a soldier. When he looked up, he was surprised to find that the soldier was a woman! 

"Ow! Watch where you're going!" She stood up and started running through the mud pool, her short-cropped blond hair flying behind her.

Wedge stumbled up and ran after her. "I'm sorry, but I just slipped. Are you okay?"

After his question, the woman seemed to run faster, running from Wedge. "Of course I'm fine. I don't need sympathy from the likes of you!" She leaped out of the mud like a frog and went immediately into a full sprint toward the flags that were stuck in the ground. She wore the number two on her arm.

Suddenly, a blur flew over the group of flags and a man blocked the way, holding two flags in his hand. He was marked with a four on his carved shoulder, similar to everything else about his upper body. "Looking for something?" He waved the number two flag at the woman. "Well, you're not getting this!"

The woman circled around the brute, forcing him to move backwards through the mud. "Either you give me that flag, or I pry it from your dead hands!"

"Strong words from someone like you!" He took the two flags and clubbed her in the stomach.

She only gave out a small grunt. "Is that the best you can do?" She flew through the air and connected a savage kick to the bully's head, stunning him for a second. He quickly recovered, grabbing the woman and slinging her into the mud. She kicked out of the mud and prepared to charge-

-at empty space. One second, the man had been standing there, the next he was gone with a loud thud. The woman found him unconscious at the edge of the mud, with Wedge standing above him. Taking both flags from the fallen soldier, he muttered to himself. "The creep took my flag too." He handed over the extra flag. "This must belong to you."

She quickly snatched away the flag and ran. "You'd better get going!"

Wedge ran after her. "You're welcome!"

Tseng met the winners at the finish line. "Very impressive, I must say. Well, what are your numbers?"

Biggs, who had finished first, answered with a salute. "Number seven, sir."

The blonde Wedge had helped answered. "Number two, sir."

"Hmm. It looks like you got yourself dirtier than you had to, Elena."

"No thanks to this guy," Elena said, pointing to Wedge.

Wedge was next in line, his massive chest caked with mud. "Number eight, sir. Besides, I apologized."

"Hmm. I see." Tseng looked around, not finding anyone else. "Well, you all did a great job. Report to the clinic for cleanup. I'll stay here and wait for the last one to come."

Elena walked somewhat slower that Wedge and Biggs did, but was following them.

Wedge was the first to speak. "That was hard."

Biggs took a look at Wedge. He was muddy, scraped, cut, and sweaty. "I can tell. It looks like you took a lot of punishment today."

"I gave more than I took, Biggs. Although I do feel sorry for the guy I pulled down."

"Wedge, they would have done the same to you if they had the chance."

"But, it was an accident. I didn't even do it on purpose, the poor guy."

"Wedge! Don't go beating yourself up about this." He gave Wedge a hard slap on the back, rekindling pain from the barbed wire cuts. Wedge yelled. "There will be three others waiting to do that for you tomorrow."

Elena stayed behind as the friends entered the clinic building.

"There's something strange about that man. He's too... nice."

Biggs and Wedge showered and found clean uniforms waiting for them when they got out. 

"They must not have enough shirts here." Biggs commented. "None of the men's uniforms ever come with any. I'll go look for some."

"I don't need one," Wedge told him. "I need to work on my tan."

"Suit yourself." Biggs went into another room.

Wedge was about to leave when he heard a strange grunt coming from the medical room. Following the sound, he found Elena propping herself up onto a examining table, inspecting her injuries.

"You're hurt," Wedge told her.

"I know."

"Like I said, I'm sorry."

"I heard."

Not satisfied that he had repaid his debt, he started foraging through the various cabinets. "That's quite a gash he gave you. You two know each other?" Wedge took out some disinfectant and applied it to the wound with some clean cotton.

"That stings!" Elena had reflexively slapped Wedge's face, but he decided to keep tending her wounds. Elena regretted that she did.

"That stings too, you know." Wedge took the smarting from his cheek and kept looking at her wounds. "Your ankle's swollen, your back is shredded, and you have some bruising on your calf, which I probably caused." Wedge sprayed some disinfectant on the cuts on her back and quickly winced, expecting another slap. It never came. He found an instant cold pack, activated it, and gave it to her. She placed it gingerly on her ankle.

Elena was puzzled. "Why are you doing this for me? I told you, I didn't need your help. I didn't back then, and I don't now."

Wedge hesitated for a moment and turned his back to Elena, revealing his own cuts. "I don't care if you need it or not. I can't stand by and accept that I hurt someone that didn't deserve it." Wedge hit his head on the wall. "In fact, it doesn't even matter if you're grateful or not for my help. At least my conscience is clear. That's the only thing I expect in return, and that's why I'm trying to help."

Elena didn't know what to say to that. "You're helping me, no matter what? I don't get it. Regular men aren't like that!"

"Then I'm not a regular man."

Elena finally saw the truth in what Wedge was saying, but she couldn't believe it. She ferociously grabbed his wrist and twisted his around to face her. "You stop this right now, okay? Now it's my turn!" She pushed Wedge facedown onto the table. "I didn't need your help, but you gave it to me anyway!"

Wedge didn't move. "So you're angry that I did? I told you-"

"You didn't let me finish!" Elena pushed his head down into the table and looked into Wedge's angry eyes with her own. "I took your help, but I'm not about to be outdone by any man! So, you helped me, and now I'll help you!"

Wedge never moved. He was so confused, he didn't want to. He bore the stings and the cold packs and the antiseptic while Elena grabbed him, moved him, sat him up, and cleaned him roughly but thoroughly. After she finished treating him, Wedge looked over at Elena. "Thanks."

"Don't. I won't return it." With that, she left.

Biggs returned to find Wedge cleaned up and sitting on the table, looking down at the floor. "What just happened, Wedge?"

"She thanked me." Wedge hung his head and tried to put the pain out of his mind.

"Why does it remind you of someone, Wedge?" Aeris walked alongside Wedge as the walked toward the dawn.

"It blinds the eyes, but is beautiful, despite its roughness."

Aeris looked doubtful. "Are you sure it's not Tifa?"

"The person I'm thinking of is a lot like Tifa, but is also very different from her."

__

Elena lay awake in her cot that night, thinking about Wedge. "Men are pigs, right? That's what I was taught. But...he's not. I can't explain it. He plowed into me, sure, but he said he was sorry. He apologized, of all things. Why? Men don't apologize! Well, at least, most men don't apologize. 

"Oh, great! And then look what I do! He offers to help, but I push him away! I was even lucky enough to have the one guy who would actually apologize to me fall right into my lap, and what do I do? I slap him when he tries to help. 

"I'm so stupid! No one has ever done anything like that for me before, ever! I was such a jerk to him, and he kept helping! Arrrgh! He actually took my abuse! Is he just spineless or something?

"How can I even say that!? He tackled two men today to keep it a fair contest! He didn't even know me, and he was protecting me! I am so stupid! I can't even believe myself, what I did to that poor guy.

"He probably hates my guts now, after what I did to him, He was so resigned, he didn't even try to run when I manhandled him. He just took it like...like... like a man. A real man. He cared about me, a woman he didn't even know, competing with him in a race for one spot! What have I done now? He's so sensitive. Maybe too sensitive.

"What am I saying? I'm complaining about a obviously strong man who cares about other people too much?! I must be delirious! And he's probably laying in his cot right now, feeling rejected. He could even be so upset, he could cry right now. A man, crying over me? That couldn't happen, but this man is different, right? He might actually like me. Oh, who am I kidding? Whatever he is, I screwed up."

Elena was almost right about Wedge. He was also lying awake in his cot, reflecting on the events of the day.

"Why did she do that to me? I only hit her by accident. And I said I was sorry. But, she seemed so angry. Why? I was only trying to help. She seemed so dead set on separating herself from my help just because I was a man. Not that it's not hard for her here, I'm sure it's just as hard or harder for her here especially because she's the only woman here, it's just that she almost hated me.

"Hated me? She slapped me! But, being the crazy, selfless idiot I am, I kept going. Then, I turned my back to her. She probably thinks I'm a wimp. I go and bare all my weaknesses to women, and they forcibly tackle me. She's going to take advantage of me someday.

"Wait, Wedge. Let's not jump to conclusions here. Maybe she just had some bad experiences in her lifetime. I know I have. If she was mistreated as a child, she could have a lot of harbored anger toward people.

"Anger? I was angry at her when she ran away. I was angry at her when she scolded me after I apologized. I was angry at her when she slapped me. I was angry at her when she forced me onto the table and pressed my head. So why didn't I run away and leave her?

"I cared about her, that's why. I was doing the right thing. But why do I always make myself a martyr for everyone else?"

Wedge stopped at this. He knew the answer.

"I know why. I can't do anything else. I just do the right thing."

Wedge left the issue at that and left himself to his fate, while Elena went to sleep feeling sorry for Wedge.

"Wedge! Wedge, look!" Aeris pointed to a small cabin in the distance that shone in the early sunlight. "There's someone there!"

"Are you sure we should even bother them this early, Aeris?"

"But look at the morning! Over here, there's no snow and a great field to play in! It's the beauty of nature! They have to see it!" Aeris dashed off toward the cabin, her pink dress flapping in the air behind her.

Wedge let out a small sigh. "Let's hope these folks are friendlier than she was."


	5. Vargas

Chapter 5: Vargas

_"Well, well. You're the last one, number four. Your name?"_

_The man panted in the dark, trying to recover from Wedge's tackle. "Vargas. My full title is Vargas the eighth."_

_"Hmm. Long family ancestry. You will have to explain it to me on the way back to camp." Tseng could not hide his curiosity, not necessarily about his history, but the fact that Wedge had knocked this man out cold for several hours. "Hmm," Tseng thought to himself. "I hope Wedge does make it into this spot. I wouldn't want to be on the side that he fights against."_

Aeris stopped in her tracks when she saw the man that came out to meet her. His graying dark hair covered half his face from view, but he quickly pushed it backwards to reveal his hard face. It matched the rest of his body: his whole form seemed almost sculpted to accommodate his bulging muscular figure. He wore only brightly colored silk trousers and pointed leather shoes.

"Who are you and what do you want?" The man stood in Aeris's way.

"We just came to say hello. We've been traveling from Narshe."

"Why? We're all dead anyway. Go away."

"But, we didn't do anything! We're just visiting!"

"If you won't leave here on your own, then I will have to remove you." The strongman moved to grab Aeris-

-and wasn't there. Wedge had anticipated his attack and charged at him, knocking the man to the ground. He rolled a few feet because of Wedge's momentum, and slowly got to his feet.

Wedge yelled at the man that he had crashed into. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but leave her alone! She's just a traveler! Is this how you always treat your visitors?"

"You've got a lot of nerve, tackling me like that. If you want a fight, then so be it!" 

The man went into a full sprint toward Wedge, who had attracted his attention away from Aeris. Just as he was about to throw the first punch, Wedge quickly sidestepped the blow and brought his elbow down on the back of his neck, pounding him into the ground. Wedge jumped back as the man kicked up. "You are becoming an annoyance," the man growled at Wedge.

"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot," Wedge called back to him. "We didn't mean any harm."

"Trespassers!" The man had started running toward Wedge again, not even bothering to punch. His plan to bowl Wedge over at full speed failed on impact, as Wedge braced himself and simply raised his elbows. The man was knocked in the face by Wedge's large arms and glanced off, landing on his back in the dust behind Wedge. He tried to get up, but he went back down, Wedge's boot pressing his neck.

"Now, like I was saying, would you please let us introduce ourselves?"

The man wasn't in any position to complain. "Go right ahead," he weakly croaked.

"My name is Wedge Palmer, and that poor girl over there is Aeris. I believe you owe her an apology."

Wedge pressed the man's neck until he consented. "You win, you win. I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Wedge's foot relaxed a bit, but still kept its position on his neck.

"Now, would you be so kind as to tell us who you are?"

"I'm called Vargas."

"Vargas?" Wedge reflexively pressed harder, almost choking him. "Which one? Tell me!"

"I'm just the first! I swear!"

"The first?"

"I-" Vargas began to gag under the pressure. "-I named my kid and grand kid Vargas, but I'm the first!"

Wedge was satisfied with his answer and released his hold. Vargas quickly swept his legs, knocking Wedge down onto his back. Vargas seized Wedge's legs and pushed them to his head, pinning him.

"You fool. Now you are at my mercy." Vargas took a rope out of his pocket with one hand and squeezed Wedge into the dirt with another. "Well, now that you are here, you'll be my guests until the Master returns. I have no problem with the girl staying." He quickly bound Wedge's arms and legs with the rope, rendering him helpless. Vargas stood up and looked at his prize. "As for you, you aren't going anywhere until the Master sees you. You are strong, but very stupid for releasing your hold." Vargas gave Wedge a small kick, knocking him unconscious. "I'll hang you up somewhere in the meantime," Vargas snickered, dragging Wedge into the cabin. Coming back out, he asked Aeris, "Aren't you coming in? You must be hungry. I'll put on some tea."

Aeris wasn't sure what to do, but she wasn't about to leave as long as Vargas had Wedge. "Coming," Aeris called out nervously.

_Elena woke slowly, remembering the man that had saved her the previous day. "Wedge..."_

_She wasn't expecting a response. "Yes? You up already?"_

_Elena opened her eyes and screamed to find Wedge in her tent, setting up a small table he had stowed away in his pack. Without thinking, she dealt him a deafening smack to the face._

_"Ow." Wedge rubbed his now tender cheek. "Good morning to you, too, Elena."_

_Elena suddenly remembered who she was with. "Sorry."_

_"We have to stop meeting like this, Elena. Here, I brought you some breakfast." Wedge set up a tray for her on the table, bearing a sandwich, an apple, and some steaming tea._

_"Breakfast? Have you eaten yet, Wedge?"_

_"I saved mine. Yours was getting cold, so the cook gave it to his dog. Here, you can have it."_

_"You're giving up your breakfast?"_

_"I don't really need it as much as some people do. There's some people in parts of the world that never get a good meal like this. Anyway, I imagine you would need it more that I would. You looked really tired after the race."_

_Elena stared at Wedge, who had now put on his bandanna and undershirt to shield himself from the sun. "Thanks," she mumbled to Wedge, sitting down beside him as he looked outside. She still wondered how he could be doing this for her._

_"You'd better eat up. Today's contest will eliminate two people, so you need the energy."_

_"What is it?"_

_"Survival. We need to navigate across this island."       _

_"Oh. So that's why we got new uniforms today."_

_"Speaking of which, we should get changed. The race starts at noon." Wedge left Elena to his breakfast._

Aeris looked at Vargas in wonder as she sipped her tea. He had captured Wedge, but only put him up on a hook. He had even been gracious enough to serve her tea, and didn't look very threatening anymore. Still, she had to do something about him.

"So, Aeris, was that your name?"

"Yes."

"I must say, you have very good taste in traveling companions."

"Thank you. But, what exactly are you planning on doing with him?"

"Oh, Wedge? Feed him and clean him until my master arrives."

This was a very strange plan he had, if any at all. "Just how are you going to do that if he's tied up?"

"Depends. If he's cooperative, I'll untie him once in a while."

"If not?"

Vargas cracked a sly smile. "I guess he'll have to work for your rent, then." He thought he was joking around, but Aeris took this as a real threat.

"Is that how you are?" Aeris raised her voice, looking very sternly at Vargas.

"Relax, just watch." Vargas stood from his chair and brought it over to Wedge. He looked ragged and dusty as he hung by the rope binding his wrists. Vargas double checked the ropes on his arms and legs before taking Wedge's chin in one hand.

Wedge stirred and groaned. "Wha- You.." Wedge mumbled weakly as Vargas stared into his eyes.

"I don't think wriggling's going to help you much." He patted Wedge down and removed his pocketknife and blaster. Setting these weapons on the chair, he prodded Wedge a bit to awaken him. "Wake up!"

"What do you want from me?" Wedge regained his bitter look.

"Personally, I don't want anything from you. Don't worry about the girl, she's right here." Vargas turned Wedge's head toward Aeris, who waved slightly.

"Don't worry, Wedge, I have a plan," Aeris mouthed silently to him.

"Why did you tie me up? I'm a civilized person!"

"Hmmph. You've got a lot of energy. That's good." Stepping back to the chair, he grabbed Wedge's pocketknife and turned to Aeris. "Don't worry. I won't hurt him," Vargas reassured Aeris. Turning back to Wedge, he felt the blade. "I doubt that I can even keep you here.."

"What?"

"You said you knew you were tied up."

"Yes."

"That's not going to stop someone like you."

"It sure looks like it."

"Try to break the ropes."

Wedge wasn't going to argue. He pulled at the ropes with all his might, stretching the taut fibers until his muscles bulged. He was exerting himself so strongly that he didn't notice a few fibers snapping. He could finally pull no more and stopped trying.

"Amazing," Vargas thought to himself as he inspected the rope holding Wedge. A third of the fibers had fallen to the floor, along with Wedge's hopes.

"I-I can't do it."

Vargas thought for a moment at what this could mean, and decided on a course of action. "Pity. You looked like the one. Well, I guess it's time for plan B."

Vargas set to work tearing Wedge's old pirate shirt apart at the seams with the knife. Wedge gulped. "Plan B?"

Vargas lifted Wedge from the hook and put him down on his knees. He had cut the shirt into strips, which he swiftly tied around Wedge's lowered chest and arms. "If you won't break the ropes, I won't waste the labor. You're going to help me plow."

Wedge called to Aeris as Vargas picked him up in one muscular arm. "Aeris! Help!"

"Don't!" Vargas flashed Wedge's knife in his other hand. "He's paying your rent." He left, leaving Aeris alone at the table, crying into her tea.

Vargas had taken Wedge to a hidden room in the back of the cabin. It contained two large round stones stacked on top of each other. Metal bars protruded from the top stone.

Wedge flinched as Vargas grabbed him by his neck. "You just wanted slave labor?"

"I wanted you to break the rope."

"Why didn't you just untie me?"

Vargas brought out a leather harness and started to wrap it around Wedge's bare chest. "You don't get it, do you?" He noted Wedge's size and took a small plow and chain from a nearby closet. "I guess you should think about it while I make you work. That poor girl wanted you to listen so badly-"

"Leave her out of this!" Wedge thought of the things this man could do to a girl like her. "I'm only going to let you order me around because I know that if I don't, she'll get hurt."

"Right." Vargas latched the chain onto the harness and pulled Wedge and the plow to his field.    

_Tseng gave one pack to each of the three soldiers at the wooden arch. "Let's review the rules, then." He revealed a typed sheet of Shinra stationery and began reading. "This will be a different type of race than the one we had yesterday. Your flags have been distributed along the eastern coast of this island. You task is to find and retrieve the flag that matches your number on the shore and bring it back here. I suggest you ration your energy wisely. The packs that have been issued to you contain maps, compasses, ropes, and a few liters of water. There are also enough rations for two meals, flint, and a Shinra all-purpose pocketknife packed inside, little gifts from me that you can keep even if you lose. You can go now, but don't rush yourself too quickly. It took me about nineteen hours to complete this course when I was a trainee." Tseng, having nothing more to say, turned away with a twinkle in his eye. The four soldiers had already run away in different directions._

"That's very interesting, Miss Aeris."

After Vargas had dragged Wedge off to the field, she had looked up from her cry to see a mysterious bearded man look down at her. Since then, Aeris had explained everything that had happened to her and what happened to Wedge.

"Are you this master Vargas keeps talking about?"

"Heh-heh. Yes." The old man looked down at her tea, which by now had become cold and salty from her tears. "You know, there was a point when he didn't even want to study under me."

"You're a martial arts teacher?"

"Right again. Now, there is the matter of what to do about Wedge when he comes back."

Aeris was shocked. "What?! Vargas kidnapped him!"

"Vargas is stupid if he thinks he can try to pull a stunt like that again. In fact, Wedge should be arriving about now-" At this point, Wedge showed himself in the doorway looking somewhat scratched. Steam rose from his sweaty frame, his chest bearing the red marks of the tight harness.

"He should also be bringing Vargas in." Indeed, Wedge had to use all his might to hold him, but he dragged an unconscious Vargas into the cabin, tied up the same way he had bound Wedge just an hour before.

"Am I not correct?" The old man had made his predictions without even looking back at the door.

Wedge had burned all of his frustration into his fight with Vargas, and saw that an old man now arrived and was comforting Aeris. He took a look at the man and strangely lost his original impulse to fight. He stood in the doorway, breathing heavily and dripping sweat.

"You must be this jerk's master." Wedge gave Vargas a kick of his own.

"I'm also his father, but I can still understand what he has done to cause you so much trouble. You must be Wedge." The old man turned slowly to face Wedge, his massive form and the prize he had brought in testifying to his strength.

Wedge caught a glimpse of the old man's eyes and suddenly averted his own. He felt a powerful warmth emanate from this old soul, probing, and sensing all that was within. Summoning up his mental energy, he managed to slow and calm the waves of energy washing over his bare body and stared straight into the man's eyes.

"I am Duncan. You may stay as long as you wish."

Wedge felt an urgent need to find out more about this man. "Thank you," he replied without moving. "You...must be a very good teacher. I had trouble with your son here."

"I know. I sensed your aura approaching the cabin and left him to greet you."

"I broke the ropes, like he told me to."

"Very impressively, I might add." He stopped for a moment to sense further into Wedge. "He tried to use you."

Wedge hung his head and knelt. He felt almost powerless to stop the influence he was exerting now. "That was my mistake."

Duncan ceased his probe, leaving Wedge bowed. "You possess great strength, Wedge Palmer, and someday it might save us all, if used correctly."

Somehow, Wedge got the message Duncan had sent into his brain. He had to accept. He had no choice. "I have to be your new student, master."

"Hmm? Do you really want to do this? I wont be as easy on you as Vargas." Duncan had implanted the thought into Wedge's mind with a purpose. "If this man is indeed the one," Duncan thought to himself, "he'll have to considerably increase his power."

Wedge felt Duncan release his mental hold on him, and stood up. "What did you just do?"

"Nothing. You just offered to become my new student."

"Well? What do you say?"

Duncan was astonished. Wedge was one step ahead of him; he seemed so sure of this. He really wanted to do it. "Why do you want to do this?" Duncan had to know how Wedge had decided.

"If you are really as powerful as I think you are, then this dead world would be a bit safer when I finish learning from you." Wedge suddenly tensed and flexed his muscles and started to concentrate his own energy. The energy he gave off was extremely perceptible to Duncan. His aura gave off waves of energy that wore away at Duncan's mental defenses. Duncan staggered, feeling the sheer force Wedge gathered into his mind. The energy flow stopped as suddenly as it started, and Duncan strained to stand. Though he was still physically the same, Wedge looked visibly larger to the old man. "It's not a matter of choice. It's a matter of destiny."

"Wedge?" Aeris was puzzled. She had failed to notice the small power struggle that had just happened between the two men. "Why are you just standing there?"

"Aeris? Oh, it seems that we are going to be staying here for a while so that I can learn from Mr. Duncan here." Wedge suddenly regained his presence and took Vargas into the house. He reached for his shirt and weapons, but Duncan stopped him.

"If you're going to be my student, you won't really need those. Just bring the gun."

Wedge found himself obeying. "What do I do with him?" Wedge asked, pointing to Vargas, bound with the rope.

"Bring him with us."

"Fine. Oh, Aeris. Thank you."

"For what?"

"This guy would have caused a lot of trouble if you did the wrong thing." Wedge looked at the marks on his wrists and on his bare chest from the ropes that held him. "He almost killed me again. That's why." Wedge left her to think about this while he dragged Vargas by his own chain.

_Wedge ran toward the desert at a moderate pace, he knew that Tseng hadn't given them a false warning about overexertion._

_"Wedge!" Biggs had run up right behind him. "Stop!"_

_Wedge didn't stop. He didn't want to or need to._

_"Wedge! Listen!"_

_"We're not going to be able to be partners this time, Biggs!" Wedge called back suddenly. As if punishing himself, he failed to notice a stone in the dust and tripped forward, scraping his stomach._

_"How can you be so cold?!"_

_Wedge realized the gravity of what he had just told his best friend. He looked up from the dirt to see that Biggs had stopped running to make sure Wedge was okay. Wedge couldn't bear to look at him. "I- I'm sorry, Biggs. I didn't mean it."_

_"Look, just let me say this, okay? When I said we were in this together, I meant it!" Biggs dealt a savage kick across his friend's unprotected ribs._

_Wedge rolled over onto his back and clutched his side. He tried to hold back the painful tears that rose from his eyes. "Biggs! I know, I deserved that."_

_Biggs kicked his other side, causing Wedge to wrench again. "You deserved that too! And even if it takes a hundred kicks, I'm going to make you get up and bring that flag back here, even if I have to push you the whole way." Biggs reached out his hand to pull Wedge to his feet. Wedge instead rolled over onto his stomach and crawled up by himself._

_"You'd probably get arrested."_

_Biggs gave Wedge a hard punch to his already scraped breadbasket, doubling him over. "I know that! But unless you get through this, it's not going to mean anything when I do. Now come on and run!" Biggs pulled Wedge to his feet and half-ran, half-shoved Wedge forward until he caught his breath again. "I know I'm being hard on you, but as your best friend, I can't let you lose! It's tough, Wedge, but that's what I have to do."_

_"Biggs!" Wedge had grasped the meaning of what Biggs had told him as he ran ahead. "Let's finish this race together!"_

"Now then, this should be a good spot. Wedge, take a look at these trees." Duncan had led Wedge to a pristine forest, filled with thick maple trees.

"They're beautiful, master." Wedge had already begun to call Duncan by this honorific title. "But why did you want me to bring the blaster?"

Duncan moved to stand between Wedge and one of the slightly larger maple trees. "Are you good at using that gadget?"

Wedge didn't have to answer by telling him so. He took aim at a small dead branch hanging from a tall tree and split it cleanly with one shot. As it fell, he broke it in two with another shot. It landed in two loud thumps on the forest floor.

"I see. Now, let's see if you can hit the trunk of this tree with a shot from that device of yours."

"Master? You want me to shoot for something that large?"

"You won't be able to hit it."

"Why not?"

Duncan pulled his long, tangled hair forward and unsheathed two short but brilliant metal swords. "You won't hit anything but these blades. Don't set that gun to a powerful setting now, you might hurt yourself."

Wedge didn't have to give any warning as he shot several balls of energy around Duncan. However, the old man was surprisingly fast. He was like a blur, batting several shots away with each slice of his two swords. The shots were then sent back toward Wedge's direction, forcing him to stop firing and dodge in five directions at once. He ended up sliding through the loam, barely dodging a shot deflected toward his head.

"Is that all you've got?" Duncan seemed that he had never really moved at all. "You're not really trying, are you? Get up!"

Wedge quickly did as he was told. "That wasn't very nice," he said, rubbing a few singed hairs on his head.

"You started it. You didn't even tell this poor old man that you were going to start. Your second mistake was that you stood still. You have to keep moving, Wedge."

Wedge reflected on this. The brooding student then broke into a full run, circling the tree. Duncan kept up with him easily and was able to stay between him and the tree. "How's this?"

"Stop talking and shoot!"

Wedge fired off several volleys, not pausing to aim but instead concentrating on the large trunk of the tree in the center of the circle. Duncan ran with him, easily deflecting each shot as it was fired. Wedge was so busy aiming and shooting that he was clawed at by several low hanging branches, scratching his arms and ribs. He learned to duck and weave with the pattern of the circle as he shot, and was then able to focus most of his energy toward Duncan. "This isn't working," Wedge thought to himself as he ran. "I'm not getting one shot off!" Thinking quickly, he stopped and changed direction, now running counter-clockwise around the tree.

"Very clever," the living blur called out to Wedge. "But you're still not hitting the tree!"

His answer was punctuated when Wedge caught a deflected shot square in his chest, stunning him enough to make him fall on his face. Wedge struggled to crawl back to his feet His skin felt numb and his pectorals ached when he moved them. Still, he managed to get up.

"Was that just a lucky shot?" Duncan laughed at Wedge from his place beside the tree.

Wedge was so furious, he barely heard it. He took his blaster in both hands and glared at it. Wedge's gaze burned into his gun and his arms as he focused all of his energy into his weapon. "No, that's not it." Wedge realized that this was his mistake and pushed all of his energy into himself, drawing it away from the gun and into his being, his body.

Duncan felt Wedge's overwhelming presence again for the second time that day. His focus began to draw energy from the surrounding area, causing his aura to become an energy vacuum. It sucked energy from the trees, the ground, the sky, he even stole a bit of Duncan's power, which Duncan was straining with all his might to protect. Duncan then felt a tangible snap in the energy around him as Wedge released it.

"YAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGHH!" Wedge's shout caused the earth to tremble as he ran at an amazing speed around the tree. Duncan was hard pressed to deflect the shots coming at him from odd angles. Wedge changed direction once, then twice, then three times, and ran straight on a collision course with a small sapling. Wedge easily splintered it as he ran, not looking back at the damage he had caused. Wedge then constricted his running path, circling closer and closer to the tree until Wedge and Duncan were only several feet apart. Wedge shot at point-blank range and Duncan deflected all that cam his way. Suddenly, Wedge leapt into the air with a great roar and focused all his energy into firing the gun. He let loose with a large, luminous blast at the trunk of the tree that Duncan could not have possibly deflected. Duncan quickly dodged the salvo as it split the trunk with a deafening crack. Wedge tumbled onto a high branch of a nearby tree and watched the trunk break into splinters, toppling the tree. Wedge paused on the branch to catch his breath and recover from the stress. He saw that he hadn't been scraped too badly, but dust from the forest floor had combined with the sweat on his trunk, making him slightly grimy to the touch. He had to shake his hands to relieve the great tingling sensation he felt as he calmed down.

Duncan took one look at Wedge up in the tree and one look at the fallen tree. He walked over to where Wedge has charged up and knelt at the crater he had made. Picking up what looked like a charred piece of wood, he held it up. "Missing something?"

Wedge's first impulse was to say no, but he put his hands to his uncombed hair and noticed that there was.

"I don't have my gun."

"You dropped it when you yelled."

"But, how did I shoot and break the tree...if I wasn't holding the gun?"

Duncan turned to retrieve Vargas from a high branch. "Heh, he, he. That's nice little toy you were playing with for a while, there." When he got to Vargas, he found that he was wide awake and had seen the whole thing; he was stupefied with terror at the massive amount of power behind the man he had tried to enslave.

Wedge jumped from his perch and landed in front of Vargas, who was still bound with Wedge's former shirt and the broken rope. "Now, what about him?"

Duncan was indifferent. "Eh, do what you want with him. He's yours." He left after handing his chain over to Wedge.

"Vargas, what should I do with you?"

Vargas gave Wedge a look of dread. He was sure that he had this man down, but he had underestimated the smaller and less defined Wedge. "If you're going to kill me, do it now," Vargas told Wedge.

"I won't kill you. You're the son of my master, and I couldn't do that to him. So let's try plan B."

Vargas gulped. This was worse than death. "Yes, sir."

"I guess now you'll work for Aeris's rent then. You seemed so gracious about it when I was your slave. Maybe you can help with the millstone."

All he could say was a small, "Yes, Wedge, sir."   


	6. The Demons

Chapter 6: The Demons

_Five hundred years ago..._

_"Do you really think there's anything important here?" A small man in a suit of Magitek armor asked his partner, looking out over the small mining town on the cliff side. He addressed his partner, who was riding in a similar contraption._

_"Definitely," he told Vicks, "judging from the urgency of our orders."_

_Vicks had another question for him concerning the third member of their team. She was a young and delicate woman with pale golden hair. She also wore a strange headband that seemed to tether her in space, keeping her where she was. "And why do we have to bring her along? I heard she fried fifty of our best Magitek armored soldiers in five minutes. She's a loose cannon!"_

_"Don't worry. That slave crown on her head robs her of all conscious thought. She'll follow orders." Vicks' partner looked back toward the sleepy town as he began his descent from their lookout. "We'll approach from the east. Move out!"_

_Vicks wasn't very comfortable with this mission. He still wasn't sure that there was anything in this small village that was worth fighting over. He was almost afraid; afraid of whatever power lurked in this town, afraid of the destructive forces that were suits of Magitek armor, afraid of the mysterious woman that had formerly been such a threat, and especially afraid of the cold eyes of his new partner. His eyes hid the countless deaths of others behind their glassy pits, mostly deaths that had been caused by his hand. Vicks observed this man's total calm, as if this was just a routine mission. He was fully prepared to kill anyone and anything that crossed his path and not have any afterthoughts of guilt. He was a cold man, at home in the ice that started to blow over the team._

_He was Wedge Chere._

            Wedge Chere was not a faint hearted man, but he found himself fully disoriented when he adjusted to his new surroundings. He also had a splitting headache, but then again, they were extremely common occurrence for him these days.

"What happened? Where am I?" Wedge called out through the red haze. He stood up and suddenly realized he no longer had the protection of his Magitek armor, and reflexively reached for the magicite shard clipped onto his belt. No one else really knew that he had stolen it from the facility at Vector, but then again, he had never felt the need to use it before and had kept its power hidden. "Can anyone hear me?"

"That little trinket won't do any good against most here, human." A confident sounding voice with a trace of a hiss split through the smoke. "Or are you beyond that stage? I suspect you are."

Wedge crumbled inwardly, but kept his expression clear. Who- or what- ever he was talking to could sense the Magitek technology that coursed through his veins. "Who are you? Do you know why I'm here?"

The voice called back. "Don't be so naive. Of course I do. But first, tell me something. Try to remember back to what you were doing before you d- I mean, arrived."

_"Magitek armor?! Not even Narshe's safe anymore!"_

"I- I was-"

_"Imperial scum!"_

"-on a mission-"

_"Don't aim for the shell!"_

"-a mission to get a-"

_"Is it still- alive?"_

"-a frozen Esper."

"Good. I see your memory still functions."

"Wait, what are you talking about? Where am I? And who are you?"

"Ah, please excuse me. I see you have some catching up to do." The voice paused to clear its throat. "Ahem. You, are I believe, Wedge Chere, a product of some kind of DNA replication process. Judging from your energy pattern, I would say that you have been spliced with DNA from-" here there was a pause, "-the ancient named Golem. However, I see that you do not have Golem's magicite in your hand right now, am I not correct?" Wedge had to agree; this man had done his homework. "Wait, I see that you have one, no- two of what you would call siblings. It is too late for you to know about it now, but, I must admit, these names should sound very familiar to you. Let's see, there's a woman named Celes, as well as the boy scout wonder, Leo. Big names.

"But, I digress. I can't hide the fact from you any longer; you're dead, Mr. Chere."

This hit Wedge like a sack of cement, or so he thought.

"Accept it. You marched through the town of Narshe, killed several guards and a Whelk, and were then vaporized by a charge of Mako energy built up over a millennium. A truly magnificent death, I might add.

"However, the Empire as you know it is now completely dead. It's not really important now, but since your death, you have been floating around in this void called Lifestream. And now, five hundred years later," the smoke cleared to reveal a green, scaly, but meticulously cleaned claw that held Wedge in the air, "I have summoned you."

With the crimson mist gone from his sight, Wedge could now gaze upon the rest of the demon's scaly physique. His arm tethered the claw to the rest of his body with strings of sinew and a massive upper arm. Even larger bulges defined the muscles of his serpentine shoulders and sloped his neck into a massive triangle. His trunk was overrun with muscularity and his horned face resembled those of vile lizards, monsters and dragons. He was covered from head to toe in green and glistening scales, and he donned a monocle over his right eye that seemed very out of place. Obviously, not a soul had worked up enough courage to say that to his face.

"In fact, what is very ironic about this is that you did end up coming here. If any residents from Narshe knew, they would be laughing their heads off."

Wedge then looked past the demon and saw the vast walls of flowing magma and stone that burned red, providing the glow that diffused into all that was here.

"Congratulations. Welcome to Hell."

"And my third question?"

The scaled monster quickly dropped him on his rear. "My mistake." Stepping back a few steps, he turned to face him. "I haven't given you a proper introduction yet." The demon pointed two clawed fingers at Wedge, and conducted his power easily. Wedge was pulled up by his feet and hung upside down before the demon. "My name is Phunbaba, and if you ever expect to get anything but torture around here, I suggest you learn some patience." Phunbaba withdrew his outstretched claw, and Wedge was dropped on his head. He then pointed to the space behind Wedge. "Look behind you, Mr. Chere. This is why I brought you out of the nothingness and void of death."

Wedge got to his feet and turned around. He beheld a great and unfinished structure, built from glowing red stone and housed in a framework of wood that supported a squad of laborers. One of them looked down at Wedge, stopping his work and returning his stare. He was a massive man with obvious power behind his muscular bulk. He was able to hold a gigantic red stone in its place on the ramp with one arm while he wiped his brow with the other. His blue hair was stiff in the hot breeze, tied in a tight queue behind his head that only moved when he decided to go on with his work. Wedge found it hard to turn his attention away from that stone pusher.

"He looked right at me."

"He, he. It's not surprising. He's an Ancient."

"There was something in that stare. It feels so...familiar."

"Well, this type of thing doesn't happen very often anymore, but, the early Ancients used to form those green crystals when they died."

Wedge unconsciously put his hand back to his magicite shard. It felt warm now, almost hot. "Tell me, were the Espers really Ancients?"

"Yes. That particular one has an attitude. But that's not the point. That structure they're building is to be my future stronghold. Magnificent, isn't it?"

"It is."

"Once it is completed, I will be able to break through to the surface world and use its resources. You are going to help me do it."

"Why do you need me? You've already got more than enough labor to do the job."

Phunbaba adjusted the lens over his eye. "You must be the preventive medicine."

"What?"

The demon produced a small crystal orb and floated it to Wedge. "There is one man- one man in the middle world- that is the key to my plan. In the right hands, he can be a very destructive weapon... But I can already sense that he has already disturbed my plans. There is something about him that can change people, I can see it. He has already succeeded in subduing two evil influences and is quickly gaining power. You must either stop him or give him to me."

The crystal orb shone with a vibrant purple light. "What is this orb for?"

"A relatively new invention. It is an indicator of power. It will glow with different colors depending on the type of energy around you. You have very dark energy, so the orb is a deep violet. The man you are looking for will have a color almost as brilliant as yours."

"What color?"

"I don't know. Probably a very bright hue. He has a very rare frequency, so you'll know it when you see it. You are going to have to do some traveling to get to the overworld, you do realize."

"Yes, but, why me?"

"You are the only one close enough to this man's power to match him. If I could get out, I would, but even if I did, I just wouldn't be compatible." Phunbaba walked up to Wedge and placed a clawed hand on his head. "Here, I'll send you off with a nice parting gift."

Phunbaba summoned up deeply stored energies and poured them into Wedge. He resisted at first, but as soon as he was aware of what he was getting, he quickly sucked in the blueprint as fast as he could.

"Power...Incredible..."

"Yes." Phunbaba withdrew his hand from Wedge's head, leaving him reeling. "Now, go north until you find some old train tracks, and climb to the surface. Use your new power against him."

Wedge Chere started to leave, but he hesitated. "Wait! What's his name?"

"The man shares your first name."

"WHAT? His name is Wedge too?"

"Hmm. Yes. You, Wedge Chere, must bring me the only other Wedge, dead or alive." Phunbaba gave a slight chuckle as Wedge Chere proceeded to the north. "Preferably a little of both."

"I never want to see your scheming face here again, Vargas," Duncan warned his son. He was being sent away from his home with only his clothes, a pack of curry ingredients, and a small dirk. "You can go and survive on your own anywhere you go, just don't come back here." Vargas had started to walk over the top of a nearby hill when Duncan had finished. It was just as well, Wedge had kept him here for weeks, watching over him as he trained with Duncan. Wedge had finally decided to let him go when, as Duncan was sensing was about to happen, Wedge had learned all Duncan could teach him. Duncan knew Wedge had taken his place behind him with Aeris, and was ready to let him go as well.

"Master Duncan."

"Wedge. You've been there for some time now."

"Duncan. I can feel it."

"Wedge, you know the time has come for you to go. There is nothing more I can teach you."

"I know. You have taught me all you could. But.."

"Somehow, you feel that it is not enough."

"Right."

"I have taught you minor concepts. You were the one who discovered the seven Blitzes you now know. But-"

"Hmm?"

"There are more."

Wedge couldn't have predicted this. He only thought that he wasn't at full power yet.

"You must find my other student. He lives far away, but you must find him. He can teach you the ultimate power."

"Where? What is his name?"

"I do not need to spoon feed you all the answers, Wedge. You can sense his power from here. Can you feel it?"

Wedge moved to the top of the hill Vargas had crossed a few minutes before. Instead of drawing power, he spread his large store of internal power across the sky. His mind displayed landscapes as though they were just fleeting parts of his imagination, but he knew they were very real. He felt with his mind and searched for the great energy. He felt several small energies over the surrounding area, not half as large as his, but still respectable. Aeris was a beacon of purity; Duncan felt like a boulder. He searched in the valleys, the forests, the towns, and the deserts. He searched the great plains and bogs, and then found it. The great power was on a hollow mountain, a large pillar of energy that made his own pale in comparison.

"Do you feel it?"

"Yes!"

He struggled to regain his focus and withdrew his sensing except in that direction. He saw a huge man, two full heads taller than Wedge. His body was packed with muscle, and he had a square face with a flat blond haircut above it. He almost resembled a bear...

The connection was broken by Duncan. Wedge fell, exhausted by the sheer effort of the probe. His yellow shirt was soaked with sweat.

"He's, he's amazing. He's unreal."

"I assure you, he is quite real. His power is incredible as well. In time, you will realize your own power and add his to your own. You must seek him out."

"But, he's too powerful.. How can I learn from him? He'd crush me!"

"He is more powerful than I am, that is true. But, try to sense your inner strength as well. You have to believe in yourself."

Wedge rose and tried directing his thoughts inward. He searched for his core and probed for any power he could find. He surged through himself, reaching for his inner core. He gathered up any loose energy he could grab from himself and searched for his own aura, his own force, but he only found a void with no edges. "I can't feel it. It's no use."

Duncan was not surprised. He wasn't really expecting Wedge to realize what he could see already. "Later, you will understand. You aren't ready for it now."

"I'll think about that while we're on our way..."

Duncan anticipated Wedge's comment. "Something else?"

"I felt other powers. They didn't seem too important at first, but they were just odd."

"What? It's true. Other people might have middle size energies. In fact, almost all of them have never even heard of me or undergone any kind of training." Duncan's voice dropped a bit. "However, these levels are hardly an indication of a fighter's power. I am not the only teacher in the world. Some might just be people with conviction or some talent, but others might have talents that do not require the type of force needed to use my techniques."

"I see."

"As you travel, you will learn new ways of sensing and will find tremendous powers, and now is the time to do so."

"I will." Wedge looked down from the summit and called. "Aeris! Are you ready to go?"

The girl ran up the slope to meet him. "Yeah. It was nice staying here for a while anyway."

"Good luck on your journey!"

The pair thanked Duncan for his hospitality and started making their way down the hill and toward the hollow mountain.

_Wedge, fully recovered, cut a path through the tall mountain grass for Biggs to follow. Biggs volunteered to lead._

_"No, Biggs, if I want to win then I'm going to have to do the work. That's been the story of my life."_

_"Wrong. You've always been working for someone else."_

_Wedge was using a crudely carved branch as his machete while he talked. "I don't think so. If I can help, that's fine, but I've always been working hard to get to where I need to go."_

_"If that's what you think. You know what your problem is? You're too generous. You just work and work to help everyone else, but you don't give yourself any time. That's why you're here."_

_Wedge didn't respond to that last statement, not because he couldn't argue against that, but because he felt movement in the grass close by._

_"What's wrong?"_

_"Nothing," Wedge lied. He decided to hack his way through at a different angle, keeping track of the strange movement. It kept its distance, but maintained its position. After ten or twenty yards, Wedge could tell it was creeping closer to them, but Biggs had no idea what was going on. Wedge didn't dare reveal that he knew; he could sense that whatever was lurking in the thick grass would pounce as soon as it was discovered. Their only chance would be to push forward and keep it away as long as possible before it struck. "Let's keep moving."_

_"Wedge?"_

_That small amount of paranoia triggered the hunter. Wedge heard a small rustle as Biggs was abducted from the path in a blur._

_"BIGGS!" Wedge, brandishing his wooden blade, turned and ran down the path trampled by the kidnapper. He dodged left and right through the twisted trail until he heard Biggs cries. _

_"Wedge! It's Var-" His shout was cut short by a sharp thump, silencing him._

_"Vargas! You coward! If you've done anything to him.."_

_Wedge suddenly ran out of grass and skidded to a stop on rocky soil. He looked at Vargas, the kidnapper, holding an unconscious Biggs with one arm around his chest and a Shinra pocketknife at his throat._

_"I haven't killed him yet, I just-" Vargas let out a small chuckle, "made him quiet for now. I wouldn't want to attract any attention to myself."_

_"Right." Wedge took one look at his helpless friend and thought about what he had said. He was right, but this contest was about a job, not life and death. "What do you want?"_

_"Well, I'm actually quite lucky here. I want both of you out of this contest, and I won't hesitate to kill you to do it."_

_"Wait!" Wedge started to move closer to Vargas, but stopped as he inched the blade closer to Biggs' throat. He threw his stick aside. "Don't kill him."_

_"Hmm. Let me think about it. No."_

_Wedge was getting desperate. He slowly removed his pack and kicked it over to Vargas. "There's my pack. If you don't kill him, I'll, I'll-"_

_"You'll what?"_

_"You can keep both of us here. I'll surrender."_

_"He's worth that much to you?"_

_Wedge admitted it. "He's my best friend."_

_Vargas softened a bit in his triumph. "Agreed." He dropped Biggs, who slumped to the ground in a heap. He placed his boot on Biggs's neck.. "Empty your pack."_

_Wedge reached to his pack and slowly dumped out the contents. He had his map, compass, rations, pocketknife, canteens, and rope strewn on the ground. "Here, this is all I have."_

_"Good. Bring me the rope, and don't try any funny stuff. You pull anything, I crush his spine."_

_Wedge beaded with sweat as he made the walk over to Vargas with the rope. It was a small distance, but it felt like hours. He kept a close eye on Biggs, who was breathing, but unconscious. He hated to think of what he would say when he came to. "Here."_

_"Good. Now turn around slowly and put your hands behind your back. Slowly."_

_Wedge moved almost unconsciously as Vargas wrapped the cord around his wrists, scraping and grinding his skin raw. When he was sure he couldn't move his arms again, Vargas wrapped the cord around his chest, binding his arms. "Now what do I do?"_

_"On the ground."_

_Wedge kneeled down and Vargas pushed him over into the dust face down. _

_"Make this go a bit faster, I haven't got all day." He tied Wedge at the ankles and then dragged Biggs' limp form beside him, tying him in the same manner and binding the two together by wrapping the remaining rope around them. He rolled his neat little bundle so that Wedge was on top._

_"There. Go, finish the race."_

_Vargas boxed his head a little, but Wedge was in no position to complain. "Yeah, as much as I'd like to stay here and watch you sweat in this desert, I'd much rather take your supplies and leave you in the, ahem, dust. You're good, but too good for your own good." Vargas gathered up Wedge's pack and the pack he had removed from Biggs and dashed back through the beaten path without looking back._

_Wedge's eyes stung; he wasn't sure whether or not it was because of the sweat on his face or what he had just done to both of them. "Great. I am too good, Biggs." He thought about the man face down in the dirt under his bulk, and managed to roll toward the sun. _

_He had known Biggs since their early days as children in Junon. Biggs had been the first kid to say hello when he moved in. Biggs had always been there for him when other, meaner kids teased or poked at him. He was the only one to comfort him. They helped each other out, and when he was left behind by other kids, Biggs was there to play with him. Wedge was naturally larger and stronger than Biggs, so he always threw his full power behind every punch when Biggs was in trouble. He even took responsibility for many things they did together, balancing their friendship. Now the little loudmouth and the gentle giant were together again, and Wedge decided that he had done the right thing after all._

_"Ugh..." Wedge could feel Biggs moving and groaning._

_"Biggs! You're okay!" Wedge strained the ropes in his position, but decided to conserve his energy. "You're okay!"_

_"Wedge! What happened?"_

_Wedge wasn't about to make any excuses. "I surrendered."_

_"Why?" Biggs screamed, straining his voice. "I told you! Now both of us are out of the race."_

_"Look, this wasn't about the race. I had no choice. He..was going to kill you."_

_"Wedge..."_

_"I couldn't let him do it," Wedge sobbed. "I wasn't going to leave you to die. I couldn't let him, so I gave myself up."_

_"Why?" Biggs stopped his friend's outpour. "You could have ran! You could have beat him, I know that. I told you, I was ready to push you all the way.'_

_"Well I wasn't! He had you, Biggs. You were unconscious and he had a knife at your throat! I couldn't resist, I just.."_

_"Wedge! I was willing to sacrifice myself to get you ahead! And now look at us! Both of us are being left behind to be eliminated, and it's your fault! You should have gone ahead!"_

_"Listen to me!" Wedge told him, racked with emotion. "I was not ready to sacrifice you for this thing! We might be out of the race, but now we're both alive!" Wedge paused as he regained his composure. "You are my best friend, and I would never let anything happen to you, no matter what happens to me. No matter what you say, I saved your life. I did it because we're best friends, Biggs." Nothing came from Biggs. "I don't care if you're mad at me for as long as I live, I'll still be there and I'll still protect you."_

_"Wedge, I-"_

_"Please. Don't be mad at me anymore. I know, you wanted me to leave you, but we're in this thing together. I'm sorry."_

_"I-"_

_"What happened to you two?" A strong feminine voice and a rough shadow covered the two friends. "You must really go way back."_

_"Elena!" Wedge strained his neck to look at the familiar face, but turned to the ground. "Don't look at me like this, I, I'm the one that got us into this mess."_

_"Vargas tackled me, knocking me unconscious as he ran here. Wedge came after me, and he used me as his hostage. Then," Biggs gulped, knowing how much he had hurt his friend, "Wedge saved my life by surrendering himself to Vargas."_

_Elena was shocked. "Is this true, Wedge?"_

_"It is," Wedge cried. "I- I'm a coward, Elena. I should have kept going."_

_"No!" Biggs and Elena said it at the same time. Elena went first, carefully cutting their bonds. "That was a very brave thing to do, Wedge." She herself couldn't believe that he had done that, but lately, she was finding out more and more about this man named Wedge. "Wedge, it was the honorable thing to do. You saved a life and did the right thing. Nobody else I know in this world would do such a thing." She sat Wedge up and gave him some of her water. Taking his bandanna from his head, she revealed his tousled and unkempt black hair while she wiped away the sweat and the tears from his face._

_"I know, I don't like it, but she's right, Wedge. I admit it." Biggs stood up, watching Elena care for the big man._

_A new tear flowed from Wedge's eye. "Can you ever forgive me, Biggs?"_

_Biggs put his hand on Wedge's beefy shoulder. "Yeah. I mean that, as your best friend."_

_Elena wiped the last tear away and tied the bandanna back over the black spikes. "I have never met anyone like you two in my entire life." Looking into Wedge's dark brown, salty eyes, she told him, "Especially you. You are a very..." strange wasn't the right word, "...unique man to be around, I must admit. You aren't like other men."  She then turned to Biggs, who was watching them. "And I am not about to let that creep, Vargas, take this chance away from us. What about you?"_

_Biggs couldn't have agreed more with her. "I'll personally make sure that he gets what's coming to him."_

_Wedge's demeanor had slowly, but completely, changed. Without the regret fueled by Biggs and with the support of Elena, Wedge was energized with fiery determination. He slowly looked toward the gray peak ahead of their shadows and burned. His premonition was clear._

_"We'll get him."_


	7. Wedge is Recruited

Chapter 7: Wedge is Recruited

A great stone building with an arched stone tile roof rose over the horizon in front of Vargas. Its front wall had a large and beautiful stained glass window in the shape of a rose set into the stones, the dreary gray of the building a shocking contrast to the merry chaos that was ensuing inside.

"OH! Oh, oh, oh! This is terrible! A calamity of a fiasco wrapped in a disaster! Oh, woe is me and I am woe-ed! Is that how it goes?"

"Impresario, I hardly believe running out of coffee is a crisis. And woe is not a verb."

The impresario was not deterred. "Well, can't a man have some artistic liberty here, in an OPERA HOUSE of all places?!" He was a small but amplified man, his frail body seemingly held against daily stress by a blue silk shirt and an undershirt he that did not care whether it was revealed or not. He also wore frayed blue trousers, worn down by an accelerated amount of wear and tear, which covered his black, paint-stained shoes. "Egad! Is there any place in this building where a man can get some bloody caffeine into his system?"

"If anything, you should drink less caffeine. Here, I made you some tea." The other man was standing on the opulently carpeted steps leading to the dressing room, delivering the tea. He was a tanned man with light gold hair, tall and solidly built, wearing a green and heavily collared coat that covered the length of his body. He carried a sword in a sheath at his side.

"TEA?! Of all things, fine!" He downed the scalding brew in one gulp, letting out a sigh of contentment. Well, that's bloody better!"

"Sir, what do we still need to do for the production? We have a great stage crew that's waiting around the clock for your guidance. That's the only reason they aren't working around the clock."

"What the blazes is going on here? You mean to tell me the production is tomorrow and our set isn't finished?" The little man dashed off to the stage and started barking orders to the poor crew.

"I feel sorry for them, Leo. I really do." A gentle, yet feminine voice called out from behind him. "I wish the Impresario wouldn't get so,"

A loud crash and shattering came from the stage, followed by the angry screams of a distressed Impresario.

"Angry?" Leo had finished her sentence for her. "I know. He has so much built up stress- (crash, boom, shriek) -and those stimulants cannot be helping him much. He could get a stroke one of these days if he's not careful."

The beautiful woman was clad in yellow, complimenting her dazzling hair and seductive features. It was a shame to see her frown. "Don't say such things! He's just," she paused for a suitably semantic phrase to come to her, "a misunderstood artist. He just needs some space."

"Oh, Maria," Leo sighed. "You can be so optimistic sometimes. Maybe too much so. But, I must admit dear, you do look positively ravishing this afternoon."

Maria blushed. "Oh, Leo! You are so nice to me? I love you sooooo much. Oh, sing me an aria, Leo! Won't you?"

Leo laughed. "Of course, my sweet. Here, this is a favorite.

"Oh your eyes- they are crystal

Your fine lips carmine

I would not have any

Other woman as mine

Your face is a mirror

I truly adore

If I must, I will tell you

Again, just once more

You are the beauty that shines in my life

There is no other that could be my fine wi-"

Halfway through the last line, a small petal of the beautiful glass rose window was shattered by a small seed. Its trajectory led it straight into the mouth of the singer, and Leo unknowingly swallowed it when it went in.

"Dear! Honey! Are you okay?"

Leo's fine tenor voice was ruined by the herb, now reduced to a low croak. "I- I think I swallowed something, somebody threw it through our window."

"Shh! I think I know." She looked up to the window and found the small hole left by the seed. She then looked into Leo's mouth, and instantly detected the problem. "That seed somebody threw was from a silent herb."

Leo croaked out a gasp. "No!"

"I'm afraid so. The only thing you can do now is wait it out."

Surprisingly, the Impresario waited until he was close to begin screaming. "WHAT!? Who did this?"

Leo and Maria Chere were startled by the volume of the Impresario. "We don't know. A silent herb was thrown through our stained glass window and it landed in poor Leo's mouth! The only thing I can do for him now is give him some herbal tea very frequently. With all luck, his voice should be back in about a week."

"A WEEK?!" The Impresario's voice thundered through the Opera House due to the acoustics. "AARRGGHH! Whoever's out there is going to feel this!" Removing a piece of magicite from his shirt he always kept hidden for these special occasions when he was very mad, he shouted out the spell and focused his energies outside to the slinger.

"QUAKE!"

Wedge and Aeris spotted Vargas easily as he threw something at the window.

"That jerk! Now he's vandalizing some poor man's window." Aeris was appalled at the things he was doing.

"What? Vargas is causing more trouble?" Wedge told Aeris to stay a small distance away while he settled his score with Vargas. "Hey you! Stop that right now! Did you hear me?"

As he was about to throw the first punch, he stumbled and fell, causing Vargas to turn and face him. "Well, Wedge. I always figured we would meet again like this." Wedge quickly tried to get up, but his head was held fast to the ground by Vargas' boot. "Ha! You are so easy to beat."

Wedge struggled to move, but then he felt why he had stumbled. The earth was starting to heave like gelatin, the same earth that his head was being smashed into. He stopped moving and thought of a plan.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! What? Has the great Wedge Palmer given up already?" Vargas slowly lifted his foot, but brought it down hard on Wedge's skull, causing his vision to blur. He tried to ignore the pain and finally made up his mind on a plan. He pretended to have a concussion.

Vargas was ignoring the unstable ground and relishing his victory over the man who had beat him before. He lifted his boot from the moaning Wedge and grabbed him by the neck. He lifted the broad man up by the throat, causing him to gag and grasp at his neck. He took a few blows to the body to stop him from groping his throat, and lifted him a full meter off the ground. "Oh, Wedge. This is going to feel so good, I want to savor the moment." He kept beating him until he opened his eyes.

Wedge weakly replied, "Fine, you win."

Vargas stopped, and Wedge was wondering why he hadn't noticed that the rocks were hopping. No matter, he was about to act. "Prepare to be my punching bag."

Suddenly, Wedge sprang into action. He broke Vargas' wrist in one blow, and burned his face with the other hand's fireball. He had just enough time to clean his face and neck with his bandanna before jumping to the roof of the building. Vargas now noticed the tremors, but was still reeling from Wedge's attack. Wedge knew he only had to power up slightly. He cupped his palms behind him and started to focus his vast energy into one point. The ground started to crack under Vargas, who was only now starting to react to the situation. He quickly jumped up and prepared to hit Wedge with a wind slash, but Wedge let loose with his Aura Bolt when he was two feet away. The force of the beam drove Vargas back to the ground, which surprisingly shattered on impact. Vargas was swept into the hot and smoky crater, and Wedge had just enough time to watch him fall into the red world below before the quake subsided and the hole closed. Wedge waited until the ground stopped moving before he jumped down. Aeris was quickly running up to him and had seen what had happened.

"Oh, Wedge!' She threw her arms around the large man, who was at a loss for what to do besides hug back. "I was so worried! He almost had you!"

"It was only Vargas," Wedge tried to calm her down. "Take it easy."

"Ah! You're all dirty! Here," she said, taking Wedge's bandanna and wiping him again. "Did you really do that?"

"Do what?"

"Use quake? I didn't think you had an Earth materia."

"I don't actually have much materia. I only kept one."

"What? So if you didn't do it, who did?"

"That's not important right now. Come on, let's go and apologize to the owner of the window."

"Oh!"

"Yes?"

"What materia is it?"

"Uh, nothing important. It doesn't even really do anything. Just forget I said it."

Fortunately, a great shriek from the Impresario interrupted Aeris's question.

"Ah, bloody heck! They're still there?" He had come into the daylight and revealed himself to Wedge and Aeris. "You vandals!" With an exasperated sigh, he turned back to yell through the open door of his Opera House. "Maria! I need a buzz out here!" He turned back to the pair in the same motion and continued his rant. "You all think that you can just go around and smash people's expensive windows and sabotage productions and survive my spells and be general all around pains in the rear do you?!"

Wedge was caught by surprise by his verbal assault. "Please, sir, let us explain. We didn't break your window or do anything to your production, but we did stop the guy that was doing all that stuff."

"Oh? Then where is he? And for the planet's sake, will you at least get me a cola, Maria!?"

"He fell through during the quake."

"Well, by my stage, isn't that all bloody good and convenient?"

"It's the truth! I swear on my favorite bandanna that it's true."

"Fine, then. Who was this phantom vandal?"

"We had met him before we came here, he was the son of my teacher-"

"Aha!" The small siren reached up and snatched the bandanna off Wedge's head. "You know him! Well, then, you have to pay for the damages then, don't you?"

"What? We didn't do anything! And give me back my bandanna!"

Wedge tugged and pulled, but the tiny man was able to hang on for dear life until Wedge gave up. He was so determined not to hurt the man and complicate the situation further, so he let go and the Impresario promptly flopped onto his rear. A woman in a shining yellow dress rushed out to help him up, carrying a can of soda.

"Are you hurt?"

"No indeed. These are the brutes I'm holding personally responsible for ruining my masterpiece. Ay!"

"Look, we're not brutes, and we're not the ones that did this to your window, but if you promise to give me back my bandanna, I'll do whatever I can to help you."

Wedge's deep bass voice flew through the air like an arrow and struck Maria's ear with a golden peal. She quickly wrested the rumpled and sweaty red cloth from the Impresario and presented it to Wedge. "Here. Do you promise to help us?"

"Maria! I-" The loud man started, but he calmed down as he felt the normalizing effects of the sugar and caffeine on his body. He was lost in his sea of fruit flavors and tingly bubbles, at least for now.

Wedge looked into Maria's eyes, sensing great urgency behind them. He took the bandanna from her and agreed. "I'll do what I can to help you. What is the problem?"

Maria quickly led Wedge and Aeris into the lobby, where Leo was patiently waiting on the red carpet. "You can save our performance. Wait, wait- I'm forgetting something. Let me start over."

"Well, if we're doing this from the beginning, names would nice to know."

"Of course! How could I forget? I am Maria, that man sitting down is my husband, Leo, the really loud and angry man is the Impresario (don't shorten it, it makes him very mad), and our other star is my sister-in-law, but you would swear that we were twins. Wait right here."

Maria wasted no time in picking up her skirts and dashing off to unknown and curtained corners of the building, searching. While she was desperately looking, the woman she was looking for had materialized on the balcony above them. She had been watching, unseen by all of the crazy inhabitants of this Opera House but found herself drawn like a magnet toward the new arrival. From the moment he walked in, she could feel power radiating from him, fresh from a battle with a slight sweat, running his hands through his wet black hair, stretching his massive neck and mounding shoulders, his sturdy back, thickly built arms and legs, and large backpack calling out to her. He turned to face her, and his gaze surprised her.

"You've been watching me ever since I came in, but nobody could find you. You must be the so-called twin."

It was true. Without the pearl colored jacket, the tight neon green top and the shrinking short silk skirt, she looked almost exactly like Maria. With all the daring her outfit possessed, she opted to vault to the floor in front of Wedge, landing perfectly on the carpet. He gave her his hand and she stood up to look at him closely. She was about eight inches taller than Wedge, and the sword Wedge saw on her back was not much shorter than he was.

"Hello." Wedge told her, unwavering. "She's not unlike Tifa," he thought, "but that does count for something."

"Hello. My name is Celes. Celes Chere is my full title."

"Wedge Palmer. Nice to meet you, Miss Chere."

"Please, call me Celes. Hmm. Wedge... That name seems so familiar."

"It's just a common name. I like your name too; it kind of flows from your mouth. Oh, I almost forgot, the girl standing over behind me is my traveling companion. Her name is Aeris Gainsborough."

"Hello, Aeris. Nice to meet you." Celes felt her hand once and almost took it away quickly; she had felt the same driving force between her and Wedge that she just felt.

"Hi. You do look an awful lot like Maria."

Right on cue, Maria rushed back into the lobby out of breath. "Oh my. Here you are, Celes. I've been looking all over for you."

"Try looking in a mirror." Celes couldn't hide her brief moment of contempt for her counterpart.

Wedge was shocked by the insult. The poor woman was now off the positive track she was on just a moment before, and gave a frown. "That wasn't very nice, Celes! She tried very hard to find you while you were hiding from everyone and spying on me!" Maria was obviously very sensitive and she let out a small whimper she couldn't hide very well. "Apologize to the poor woman right now!"

Celes was speechless. She had felt drawn to this brooding, powerful man and here he was, a few minutes later, looking silly and trying to comfort that child of a woman because of something she said. "You idiot!" Celes thought to herself. "Now you've just made him hate you, you blockhead. He was such a fine specimen too.. Wait! Maybe if I make up quickly, I won't look so bad to him after all!"

She quickly pushed her way into the small circle that Wedge, Aeris, Leo and Maria had formed to comfort her. "Look, Maria, I'm really sorry I said that. I didn't mean it. We both look unique."

Wedge was wiping away her tears with his bandanna when she suddenly slowed her sobs. "Do you really mean that, Celes?"

"Yes. You know we all care about you."

Wedge was knocked over as Maria jumped up from her down mood with all of her previous energy. He slowly got to his feet and rubbed his head, smarting from hitting the floor and being knocked around several times in the past hour. "Oww... Good. Stay positive. It's a good thing these floors are carpeted..."   

_"According to this map, we were ambushed there." Wedge, Elena, and Biggs were huddled together in the sunset on the face of the mountain. They had spent a few hours searching the map and the island for a trail that would lead them to their flags. "He should be here."_

_"What makes you say that, Wedge?" Elena was somewhat skeptical of his stop here on the side of the rock._

_"I think we're really close to him, that's all."_

_"Yeah, I know that. But why could he possibly be here? He didn't leave a decent trail or anything."_

_"Um, I don't know." Wedge was caught there. He had just gone on instinct. "I just have this...feeling that he's here, waiting for us."_

_Biggs walked away from the group and started thinking. "Hmm. Maybe the big guy's right, Elena." He walked over to the stone face of the mountain and looked at it closely._

_"What are you looking for now, Biggs?" Wedge was curious about what clue he had found._

_"Aha! Here it is!" Biggs had grasped a small discolored stone and started to turn it. "I was looking for the handle, but it won't turn."_

_"That's just a rock, Biggs. What are you trying to do?"_

_"It's a trigger." He backed away from the stone and traced a long crack around a large area of the rock face with his hand. "Doesn't that look suspiciously like a door to you?"_

_"Yeah, it kinda does. But how do we even if it is?"_

_Biggs walked back over to his large friend and told him, "Well, we'll find out if I can get more muscle to help me turn the knob."_

_Wedge got the message. "All right, I'll see what I can do."_

_Leaving Biggs behind, he grabbed the small round stone and tried to turn it. There was some motion, but not enough. He shifted his weight and pulled from the side unsuccessfully. He then tried the other way, but couldn't budge it. Wedge tugged and pulled, straining his wrists, but to no avail. "It's not working."_

_"It has to, Wedge! We're counting on you, big guy!"_

_Wedge sighed and turned back to his work, examining the stone, looking for something Biggs missed. "Maybe it's not a handle, Biggs."_

_"What are you talking about?"_

_Wedge had noticed that the stone seemed to be only partially out of the rock. "Maybe we need to pull it out." He wiped his hands together, got a solid grip on the stubby rock, and pulled. When he didn't get any results, he put his whole weight behind his pull, grinding the heels of his boots into the earth. All of his strength couldn't move that rock one inch._

_Wedge let out a frustrated growl. "Stupid rock! This thing is stuck!"_

_"Whoa, that's okay, Wedge. Maybe I was wrong about the rock."_

_"Argh! You're usually right about these things, Biggs! It's just.. I was so sure too. Stupid ROCK!" As Wedge yelled the last word, he gave the stubborn stone an earth-shaking punch in exasperation, driving it into the mountain. The cracks around it yawned, and the stone slab Biggs was taking about suddenly swung ajar, grinding to a stop at a right angle._

_"I must admit, Wedge, you are a very handy man to have around." Elena was impressed by Wedge's show of brute force, and gave him a pat on the back as she stepped inside._

_"Thanks, Elena." Wedge had suddenly noticed he had cooled off from his burst of anger._

_"That's what I thought." Biggs put the map into Wedge's sweaty hand and pointed to a dot near the peak of the mountain. "This was a hidden tunnel through the mountain. According to this map, there is a supply cache about fifty yards into the cave."_

_"And he figured that if we ever got out of the ropes, we would need to get our packs back. Biggs, you're a genius!" Wedge gave Biggs a giant bear hug, almost crushing him._

_"Don't mention it, Wedge." Biggs was gasping for air. "You're the one that opened the door, you big lug. Just...stop squeezing me so hard, okay?"_

"Now, back to the business at hand." Maria had swept Wedge into her dressing room with Leo and Celes in tow. "We need you, Wedge! We really need you!"

"He already knows that, dear." By then, Leo had regained his speaking voice, but was not about to start singing anytime soon. "We're terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but you have a wonderful voice, Mr. Palmer."

"I do? Really?"

"Oh, it's golden! It's the perfect replacement for my honey's golden voice!"

Celes was careful to groan under her breath. "Oh please..."

"What she's trying to say is that your bass tone can fit my role in the play tomorrow, which is fortunate because the man that attacked me made me lose my voice. The only problem is that, well, you don't know the part."

"How long do I have to memorize the lines?"

Leo looked up at a clock on the wall. "It's about three o' clock now. The first performance is supposed to be at nine tomorrow night. This is really bad timing, I admit."

"You got that right. Wait, have you tried any Echo Screen?"

"We already called in an order from Jidoor, but it's being couriered from Maranda by chocobo because they're fresh out. It looks like you'll have to pull off at least one show."

"Okay. I'll do it. But, you'll have to fill me in on the details while I study the script."

Maria almost jumped. "The script! I completely forgot!" She dashed out of the room.

"Anyway, it's a musical drama about two women and a soldier. You're lucky, because you don't really have too much to sing until the end of the play."

"I have to sing these lines?!"

"Yes. It isn't too hard, you only have to do the song at the end when you die."

"Deja vu, I see."

"It is terribly ironic for you, I take it, but try to bear with me. I, or now, you, play the soldier, Doyle. Doyle doesn't have many speaking parts because he goes off to war at the beginning of the first act."

"War?"

"Yes, he gives a short speech about how terrible war is and how he has to do his duty, and leaves the two women in his life behind in his castle. Celes plays the part of Fiona, a hot headed princess that wants Doyle for herself. Maria plays the part of Lucca, her twin sister. Lucca is sweet and a bit naive, and longs to be together with Doyle."

"That sounds like a good romance."

"It does, doesn't it? Except that the two sisters divide their kingdom up and eventually go to war over Doyle."

"What?!"

"Yeah, very tragic, I know."

Maria came dashing back with a stapled stack of papers. "Here you go, Wedge. Oh, you look like you're roasting in here!"

Wedge was feeling a little hot. "How did you know?"

"You're sweating, you poor thing! I'll get you some iced tea." Maria left as quickly as she burst in.

"Here we go, there it is. Page seventeen. 'The two sisters then go against each other for their one love.' See?"

Wedge read through the lines. "Wow. They get a bit violent."

"But the best part for me, anyway, is when I, or you, as Doyle, get back from the war and find the two women fighting. You then make a speech, sing a sad song, and jump off the balcony."

"This just gets weirder and weirder."

"No, I like that part. He is so sad because they are fighting over him that he scolds them both for making an unneeded war and runs away from them. They give chase through the castle, and when Doyle is trapped on the balcony, he commits suicide in a mad rage. A very honorable way for a character to die."

"Just make sure there's a safety net for me to land on, okay?"


	8. Doyle Saves the Show

Chapter 8: Doyle Saves the Show

"Wedge! You look amazing!"

"Aeris! So do you! What have you been doing the last twenty-something hours?"

"The Impresario kept me pretty busy working with the stage crew. At least we were able to finish making the set."

"Speaking of which, the show starts in half an hour!" Wedge did his best not to look nervous in his proverbial shining armor, complete with the helmet in his hand and the sword at his side. He still wore the bandanna.

"Relax. Leo thought you might have some problems with your lines, so I was drafted as your prompter. I'm just an extra anyway." She was dressed in a white servant's apron and blouse, nowhere near as fancy or elaborate as Wedge's suit of armor.

"Thanks for the help. But, it's so hard to relax right now. I mean, I've never performed in front of an actual audience before. I've never had to make any speeches, I never really even got up in front of the class and done a decent presentation before."

"Is that the only thing that's keeping you from getting out there?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I think I have the lines down pat." Wedge shifted uneasily in the big steel plating.

Aeris stepped over to Wedge and gave him a small kiss on his cheek. "Now, you'll be fine. I promise, there won't be any problems with your performance. I'm sure of it."

Wedge's nerves were taken over by his warm blush. "Again, thanks for your support." He stood for a second and faced the stage door, and reached to his head. "Ir's kinda funny, but the only reason I'm keeping this thing on is for good luck. I look so out of character with it on. Maybe I should take it off." He stood there, fingering his red bandanna.

He was stopped by Aeris's warm glove. "You look fine. And if you get good luck from that thing, don't you dare take it off." She took Wedge's hand from his head and rubbed the bandanna with the other. They started walking to the dressing room together. "Besides, it looks good on you."

Aeris was so busy giving Wedge moral support and Wedge was so busy being in his moment with Aeris that they didn't notice when a small white envelope dropped to the floor behind them.

However, Celes did. And after reading it, she decided to keep it hidden, setting the stage for a novel surprise later.

"I couldn't have planned this better myself."

"CE-LES! Celes! I've been looking ALL OVER for you!"

She didn't have to ask who it was. "Impresario, have you been going without your coffee again?"

"Well of course I have! I don't usually get this nervous at a premiere, do I?"

It was just the opposite; he seemed to be amplified, if such a thing were physically possible. She quickly hid the envelope in her sash, blending in with the white dress she was wearing. "Um, not really. Just checking the score again."

"Oh, you and your scores, Celes. Honestly, ever since I met you, you've never been able to memorize your lines completely..." He walked off, exiting the dressing room and going to rant at the audience on some tangent of conduct. She went the other direction, avoiding the stage. She didn't notice that she had dropped the envelope at the stage door.

"Hee, hee. Boy, this is the life. Going back to what I do best, yup!" The voice whispering from the rafters above the stage was no stranger to the Opera House. "Hee, hee. Look at how elaborate their set is...hmm. I wonder what this rope does?" There was a slimy flick and a snap, breaking the rope and releasing a sandbag above the creature's head. It was a very funny scene, at least to the rats that lived up there. "Ow! Oh, so you think that's real funny, do you? Well you won't be laughing when I get back at that goody-good General Leo!"

He let out a small laugh. "Oh, this plan is so good! I don't think they'll mind if I drop in for a little fun, right?!" All he got back were squeaks and gnawing. "Ahh, I'll just get back at him. You all wait, hee, hee."

There was another muffled, "Ow!" as a second sandbag fell on the creature with a squish.

"Darn rats!"

The massive theater room was slowly dimmed and darkened, causing the chatter from the crowd to dissipate. Slowly, a hush fell over the crowd as the last scrap of light vanished and the spotlight fell on Aeris, who was situated in the back of the room. As she walked down the center aisle, she started her speech, which was amplified by a microphone most of the actors wore.

"Tonight's tale is one of love and tragedy, life and death, two opposites, drawn together by a common strand. My mistresses, twin princesses of my kingdom, once shared the land peacefully. But then, a great knight came to our land and captured both their hearts unknowingly. He was welcomed by all and adored by the royalty, and he was able to keep peace in the nation. But now, he's being called away to fight in a great battle in a foreign land. Now, I worry about what will happen to our small kingdom when he leaves us..."

The lights then shone on the stage as the velvet curtains were drawn up, revealing a multi-tiered castle with a small balcony on its right side. Aides on stage pulled apart the walls of the castle, splitting it in half and revealing a warm inner room in several layers and a roaring fireplace at the bottom floor.

Aeris quickly took her place in the orchestra pit as the lively scene teemed with people and drew the attention away from her. Wedge almost stumbled through a door, but managed to regain his footing before most of the audience could see him. Holding the helmet in one arm, he briskly walked across the floor, greeting the extras dressed as maids and servants, guards and scribes. Wedge then stopped in the middle of the crowd, who parted as Maria and Celes entered through the main gate. They curtsied; he made a showy bow.

"Doyle!" Celes had fully entered character as Fiona. "I haven't seen you all day! Where have you been?"

"Oh, Doyle. You make this castle light up. Everyone is so happy when you are around." Maria was always like this, so Wedge couldn't tell that she was any different as Lucca.

"Hello. Good day to both of you. Fiona. Lucca. You both look wonderful today." Wedge was trying his best to become a dashing knight, but he didn't have enough time to get his character down. He ultimately decided to be himself.

"Doyle?" Lucca gave him her most caring look. "What's wrong? You seem troubled."

"You haven't been acting quite like yourself lately, Sir Doyle."

Wedge struggled with the next line, but Aeris was there with her cue cards. "Ladies, I have just received grave news."

"What's wrong, my sweet?" Lucca, or Maria, seemed to have been born with that line.

"Yes, brave knight, what news does your king send?" Fiona fit Celes just as well.

Wedge as Doyle took a scroll of parchment from a nearby scribe. "This is a proclamation from my King. I am needed far away in battle. Our armies are struggling with an invading nation. They need my help. I must take my leave of you both."

Fiona and Lucca looked terribly shocked. Fiona gave her reaction first. "Sir Doyle! You can't be serious!"

"Doyle! You mustn't go! I couldn't live with myself if I let you go!"

Doyle ran into trouble again with his lines, but he did a good job of making it sound like he was resolved to his task. "Ladies, I know this must be hard for you and your kingdom, and I am truly grateful for what both of you have done for me, but my people need me. Their lives and mine are at stake. It is my responsibility to protect them."

"I see." Lucca was heartbroken.

"You have to go, then. Your duty is to your people, as ours are to our kingdom. But, I hate to see you go."

Doyle wiped away an imaginary tear as he knelt in from of them. "I must leave, and I cannot promise you I will even come back alive, but I swear to you, somehow, my legacy to this land will keep the peace here. I swear that when I return, the peace that has lasted so long in this land will continue."

Wedge rose and kissed their hands softly. "Goodbye." He exited from stage left.

"Whew! Half of it's over now, at least." Wedge wiped away the sweat from his face with his bandanna as he seated himself in a dressing room chair with a metallic clink. "That was the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life. Well, not counting that I'm dead, anyway." He reapplied his bandanna. "I need to go out for some fresh air."

Wedge got up noisily and started walking out the door, but he suddenly slipped on something and came down with a crash in his armor.

"He's already off to battle, Lucca. We wish him luck." They covered well, and the audience was laughing.

"Oww.. That hurt a lot.." Wedge sat up and saw the envelope that he slipped on. "What's this?"

The envelope was white and sealed with a purple sticker. It wasn't labeled. Wedge opened it, and unfolded a very short, but very important letter.

'Dear Doyle,

He, he. If you don't remember me, you will after this. Sorry for spoiling your show, but if you've got the suckers to face me, I'll be on the rafters with an anvil that has your name on it. He, he. Enjoy the show, because if you can't find me, it'll be your last.

He, he. Yours truly:

Ultros.

P.S. I wouldn't want to keep the crowd waiting when you enter the second act. He, he.'

"Who is this guy?" Wedge was stumped. He had no clue what was going on. "Wait, maybe Leo knows him. I'm just his replacement, after all. I have to find him."

Wedge could hear the battle scene getting underway, which was signaling the halfway point of the first act. The high tempo violin music was the perfect accompaniment to Wedge's  race through the lobby and up the stairs to the actor's lounge, where Leo was waiting for him.

"So," Leo commented, sipping his tea, "how did you do? Were you able to capture the true essence of the character?"

"I tripped twice and forgot half my lines."

"Well, from what I hear, it's going pretty well. They like you."

"Really? You think so?"

"You're a natural, my boy. So, why were you racing up here?"

"This." Wedge gave Leo the letter and the envelope.

Leo took some time reading it, and then had to read it over again to fully believe it.

"Oh dear. Not again."

"What? Who is this guy?"

"The first question was the right one, Wedge. This is no small matter."

"What are we dealing with here?"

Leo's face turned from Wedge as he sipped his tea. "The question is, what are YOU dealing with here? This Ultros character is the worst, most cunning and annoying creature created."

"I don't get it. Why can't you help me out here?"

"Two reasons. I'm not in any condition to be on that stage."

"Why does that matter?"

He paused. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yeah, before I go and risk my rear end and the play by going up there by myself to battle this thing you won't give me any specific details about. That would help."

"I- I have a severe fear of heights. I would fall off those rafters in an instant."

Wedge could not believe what he was hearing. "Look, I just had to face a severe fear of getting out there on that stage with all of those people watching me trip over myself in this stupid armor! I was petrified, but I eventually got up there and-"

Leo dropped the letter and went to the floor, begging Wedge not to go any further. "Don't make me, Wedge! Please! He knows I can't go up there and fight him! That's why he's taunting me in this letter!" The man was literally crying at Wedge's feet. "Please, I beg you. Go up there instead of me!"

Wedge stood there, looking at this display of emotion in his metal suit. He looked so pathetic, so hopeless, that his giving heart eventually caved in. "Fine. I'll have to get to this thing, neutralize it and get back down to the stage by the time my part comes, which is in about half an hour. And while I'm in this armor."

"Will you do it? Please?"

"Yeah. Where's my blaster?"

"Oh, no, no, no! You can't use that gun of yours up there! It'll ruin the show!"

"Give me a break!" Wedge went through his pack, which he had hung in his locker. Taking the gun out, he armed it and put it in his belt. "If anything, it'll compliment the second  act."

Within two minutes of Wedge's leaving, Leo was back to his tea. "So naive. Never trust a good actor."

Wedge decided to don the helmet as he dashed through the lobby again. He was about to run through the door to the balcony when he remembered that he was in costume. Wedge brainstormed for a while, and elected to crawl through the aisle. He laboriously made his way across the floor, luckily unnoticed because of the great battle scene playing out below them. Everyone was standing to get a better look. 

He tried the handle to the rafter door, but only found it locked tight. "I suppose it's good that it's locked," Wedge thought to himself as he crawled to the other side of the balcony. Fortunately, this door was slightly ajar, so he had no trouble crawling inside and shutting the door. As he did, the lively music stopped and a wave of chatter could be heard outside.

"What are you doing here, Doyle? Intermission's just started! How did you get all the way here in costume?" The Impresario was suddenly bombarding him with questions.

"Look, we don't have time! There's a thing named Ultros in our rafters, and if I don't get up there, stop it, and get back to the stage before my part, the play's going to be ruined!"

"Ultros!? Again!? That thing doesn't stop annoying me!"

"Just one question. What exactly is it?"

"Ultros is a stupid, aggravating, annoying, little, sneaky, purple octopus that is determined to raise my blood pressure!"

"Okay, okay. That's all fine and good but how do I unlock the door to the rafters?"

The Impresario motioned to a set of switches on the wall behind him. "These levers control the locks, lights, and trapdoors for the building."

"So which one do I pull?"

"I don't know, The right lever's supposed to go to the right door, or at least that's what that stage boy told me."

Wedge was now confused. "That told me absolutely nothing."

"Well, how should I know? Just pick one!"

"Wait! Even if I pull the switch for the door, it's intermission! I can't just dash through the crowd in costume! It would ruin the play!"

"Then try to find the switch that controls the light to the balcony area!"

"Wedge seemed very tense, Aeris. I hope he's okay..." Maria was resting her voice by speaking softly and gargling some cold water.

"Don't worry. He should be fine, Maria." Aeris was putting her cue cards in order, sitting between Maria and Celes in the dressing room. "He's a big boy, he can handle himself."

"Yeah." Celes had to agree with that statement. "He handled himself well."

"Speaking of which, where is he?" Aeris started to worry. "He should be here."

"Oh, he probably snuck away to the lounge to chat with Leo." Maria wasn't as worried as they were. "Although, I wouldn't want to be stuck in that room with the crowd outside the lobby. Leo can be very tedious at times."

That was definitely not what was worrying Celes, who was checking her blouse and belt thoroughly. "Have you two seen a letter in an envelope on the floor anywhere around here?"

"I haven't." Aeris didn't notice anything really strange about it.

"Did you drop it? Maybe you should retrace your steps." Maria was her usual helpful self.

Celes stood up and walked over to the lobby doorway, looking down at the carpet. "I found it here," she thought to herself. She walked slowly across the red carpet, coming to a mirrored desk. "I read it here, and then I-"

It was in plain sight beside the desk. There was a large skid mark and man's outline that rubbed the velvet the wrong way. It was Wedge.

"He found it!" Celes had seen her blunder. The letter had went to the right character, but the wrong person! And now he was missing!

"What? Who found it?" Aeris and Maria were anxious to know what was going on.

Celes had bungled her cover again. Thinking quickly, she recovered. "Remember when Wedge fell? He must have slipped on the envelope!"

Aeris interrupted her. "So? What was in that envelope that was so important?"

"Uh, well, I never got a chance to read it! I was planning to read it when intermission started."

"It sounds to me like this kind of thing has happened before, Maria. What do you think?"

"Well, there has only been one other time when envelopes suddenly appeared here, Celes."

Celes did her best to act surprised. "You don't think..."

"Definitely. That thing is back, and now Wedge is probably up in the balcony already." Maria was about to signal to Aeris, but she was already gone.

"Argh! This suit is really heavy! Help me up!"

Wedge had already pulled the wrong lever, triggering a trapdoor he was standing on. The only thing keeping him from sliding down to the stage area was his strong grip.

"Gotcha!" The Impresario grabbed his wrist and tugged, but couldn't get him any higher. He let go and crawled away.

"What are you doing? Help me up!"

"I need my caffeine! Dragging you up here is like lifting a boulder!"

Wedge was losing his grip, and he wasn't able to pull himself up far enough to get a good hold on the perilous edge. "HELP! Come on and give me a hand!"

One minute and an empty can later, the little man was able to pull Wedge's bulk up to the floor with a monumental effort. "Ay, what do you weigh? You must be at least two hundred pounds!"

"I'm guessing about 250 with this darn armor on." Wedge remembered his manners. "And thank you for the help."

"Don't thank me, thank the extra jolt this triple stimulant soda gave me. I only keep this thing handy for special emergencies, so you had better think yourself lucky! Now," he said, standing up, "try the other switches. Just flip all of them!"

"You sure?"

"Look, intermission stops in a matter of seconds! You don't have time to think about it!"

Wedge took the three remaining switches in his hands and threw them all. The lights in the balcony shut off, and they could hear the click of a lock opening, but they had no clue what the other switch did. The Impresario dashed out first and blocked the view for Wedge to follow.

"Don't be alarmed, it's just a small wiring problem, and I'm taking my electrician here to fix it! There's no need for alarm!"

"Hey, who is that behind you?"

"Just the poor electrician, thank you. Excuse me!"

Wedge quickly sneaked behind him and stumbled through the shadows, going through the door almost unnoticed.

Only three people saw him go onto the rafters. 

Aeris, in the orchestra pit, happened to see Wedge through the gaps in the curtains above her.

Celes was looking to the ceiling as the act started, and saw who she thought was her knight in shining armor through the beams overhead.

And there was one stunned member of the audience in the front row that had kept his eyes on Doyle as he made his way around the theater, through the balcony, and now above the stage. He couldn't believe his eyes when the man wearing metal walked out onto the stage and almost tripped over himself twice. He was even more surprised that he didn't recognize him from where he was sitting.

"I swear, that big guy, Doyle,  looks just like Wedge with that bandanna on."

Wedge, impervious to all this, walked slowly across the wooden beams. Kicking a few rats out of the way, he called out quietly to whatever lurked in the shadows above where Celes and Maria sang.

"Hello! I know something's up here! I got your letter, so come out!"

An uncertain and slimy voice came from the darkness. "Uh, um, ha ha. Yes, he, he. (How embarrassing.) Um, yes, I am the GREAT Ultros and I'm going to... um... ruin your stupid play! Ha, ha. (That's it.. Keep it up, maybe he won't see you...) You'd better be shaking in your armor, Leo, because you're mine now!"

As soon as he knew what he was up against, Wedge knew his time had been wasted. "First of all, you should already know that I am definitely not Leo. I'm his stand-in for tonight."

"Oh, uh, I um, knew that all along. Just testing you, that's all. Ha, ha."

"Second, other people can hear you when you talk to yourself so loudly."

"Yeah, um, I wanted you to, yeah, that's it! I did it on purpose."

"Finally, I can't see you right now, but I can sense that you aren't in any position to ruin anything. You're strung up."

The slimy octopus was suddenly revealed. He was covered in sand and tied by a stray rope that looped around his limbs. "Argh. Stupid actor. I was trying to put on a scary front, scaring you till you were silly, and making you wet your pants before you fell off."

"Well, so much for that." Wedge was on his way out to secure the situation, when he suddenly couldn't walk forward. His boots scraped against the wood, and he bent down to see what the problem was, but then his arms were stuck to his sides. He tried to run, but he felt something wrap around his boots and face.

"Of course, I could just kill you now."

Wedge was in trouble. He had no clue how that thing had escaped, but the monster dragged him around to face him. One tentacle had been free the whole time, and this was the one that was wrapped around Wedge. He hadn't actually escaped at all.

"Hee hee. This is going to be fun!"

Wedge was stuck fast. Nothing could move, and he could feel the armor being squeezed tighter, He was, however, not constricting his neck, so he was still alive. The end of the tentacle covering his mouth slid to close his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Hee, hee. You're my new toy." Wedge felt another squeeze press his chest and gut, deflating them almost fully. He was almost gasping for air.

"I can't breathe-" Wedge panted as Ultros toyed with him.

"That's the point, isn't it? Oh, wait, what am I doing?"

Wedge felt the air rush back into his lungs as Ultros loosened his grip on his neck and chest, but there wasn't much relief. He had started to crush Wedge's thick legs together and drew him toward the ropes. "You, you didn't kill me."

"Don't flatter yourself. I just need you for a little bit."

"Forget it. I won't help you!" He spat out his words in frustration as he was already feeling Ultros crush him for a second time.

"Hee, hee. Maybe I should kill you. Then I could drop your carcass onto that stage and just untie myself. What a funny joke THAT would be!"

"Wait.." Wedge tried to bargain with the creature before he passed out. "I'll...reconsider..."

"That's a good piece of bait." Ultros slid his tentacle off Wedge's right arm and around his neck, fitting snugly. "Now, be a good little sucker and untie me before your head takes a little vacation."

That was the opening Wedge needed. His free arm sprang into action, firing shafts of light. He aimed first at the beast's purple face and then countered the choke hold with another blast to its slimy shoulder, ripping the tentacle clean from its stump. It slithered for a while, but eventually released its hold on Wedge's armor, leaving him standing on the beam, catching his breath.

"You guy are all the same. All talk, no brains."

"You little punk! Cheap, stinking muscle head! There's only one other guy that can do that in the whole world! How could a creep like you use that?"

"There's three other people who can do it, really. One of them's my teacher." With the threat finally neutralized, Wedge took off his helmet and stuck it on the bleeding stump. "Try not to ooze all over the Impresario's beautiful stage."

An impatient voice rang out below. "Oh, I do implore the gods above to return my Doyle to me so that I may see him once more!"

"Yes! I also pray, more so, that the gods bid Doyle to return to us!" Both Lucca and Fiona were staring at Doyle, waiting for him to come from the sky (or the rafters.) "Preferably quickly!"

Wedge- or Doyle- adjusted his bandanna and grabbed a rope hanging from a nearby pulley. He waved good bye to his problems, wrapped up in a neat little bundle. "That's my cue, o great one. Acting. What a pain!" With that, he rode the rope down to the stage behind the backdrop, and strode confidently into the castle.


End file.
